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Human Resource
Development
Block
1
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT :
STRATEGIES, DESIGN AND EXPERIENCES
UNIT 1
UNIT 2
UNIT 3
1
BLOCK 1 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT :
STRATEGIES, DESIGN AND EXPERIENCES
This block comprises three units. The first unit present an overview of HRD field,
explaining different basic aspects and issues of HRD. The second unit deals with various
private sector organisations, which deal with and highlight various aspects and practices
2
UNIT 1 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT : AN OVERVIEW
Objectives
• Define HRD;
Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.9 Summary
3
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In the field of Management Sciences, 1980s can be called as a decade of computers and
HRD. 1990s are likely to continue to be a decade of new technologies in every field
experimentation and experience in the field of HRD has grown enormously in the last
decade. Many organizations have set up new departments known as “HRD Departments”
These departments have done remarkable work in attempting to find out new ways of
organizations have started enthusing supervisors, line managers top management union
developing their own and their subordinates competencies. While there is a lot of
progress in the field of human resource development in the last one decade, there is lot
more that needs to be achieved. Last ten years efforts have largely been limited to large
4
size industry and profit sector. Even here executive development was focussed much
industry and government systems still treat HRD as synonymous with training. A lot
any activities to facilitate and manage the HRD function in any organization. This units
context HRD “……… is a process by which the employees of an organization are helped
• Develop their general capabilities as individuals and discover and exploit their inner
5
• Develop an organizational culture in which supervisor-subordinate relationships,
team work, and collaboration among sub-units are strong and contribute to the
through training, job rotation, responsibility definition and such other mechanisms.
People need competencies (knowledge attitudes, values and skills) to perform tasks.
Higher degree and quality of performance of tasks requires higher level or degree or
likely to achieve its goals. Competent and motivated employees are essential for
Over a period of time, an organization may achieve a saturations point in terms of its
growth. Even to maintain such a saturation level of growth employee competencies need
6
Any organisation that is interested in improving its services and its effectiveness in other
ways (e.g. cost reduction, reduction in delays, increased customer satisfaction, improved
quality and promptness of services, market image etc., ) needs to develop its employee
For example if a university wants to do better than before improving its nature of courses
offered and the quality of teaching, it has to undertake a faculty development programme.
equip the administration with better competencies. When a hospital wants to improve its
create a new culture, new orientation and attitudes in its staff. If the government offices
have to work better, a good deal of attitude change and value education may become
necessary along with a few other policy changes. A profit making company wanting to
diversify may need to develop new competencies in some of its staff to be able to handle
• Stabilising itself
• Growing
• Diversifying
7
• Improving its systems and services
organizations. The nature of efforts and investments put into develop human resources
may vary from organization to organization depending on its need, nature, size etc. This
may also vary from time to time in the same organization depending on the nature of
change the organization is going through or the nature of capabilities the organization
wants to build within it. There are many methods or instruments available for
The instruments of HRD are many. The HRD instruments should lead to the generation
of HRD processes like role clarity, performance planning, development climate, risk
taking, dynamism, etc. in employees. Such HRD process should result in more
competent, satisfied and committed people that would make the organization grow by
contributing their best to it. Such HRD outcomes influence the organizational
8
The interrelationships between HRD instruments, processes, outcomes and organizational
technology, competitors etc. However, other things being the same an organization that
has competent, satisfied, committed and dynamic people is likely to do better than an
organization that has better HRD climate and processes is likely to be more effective that
an organization that does not have them. This is because a number of HRD processes
The HRD processes and outcomes are separated in the Figure to bring out sharply the
following :
1) HRD outcomes are a few whereas processes are many (what is provided in
9
performance planning, trust, collaboration openness can be considered as
than one need to question the adequacy (qualitative and quantitative) of the
5) HRD outcomes mentioned in the figure provide the raison etre for HRD
processes.
The linkages between HRD outcomes and organizational effectiveness are not easily
productivity have not shown any consistent results. This has an implication for the
Chief Executives, unit heads, line managers and HRD managers interested in HRD.
They have to make efforts to promote HRD processes and culture in their
believe that their organizations are not likely to be effective for sustained periods
without the HRD processes and outcomes howsoever facilitating the other factors
10
Another set of relationship shown in Figure I deserves attention. This is the
relationship between boxes 1 and 2 i.e., HRD Mechanisms and HRD Processes.
etc. are “systemic” interventions an organization can make to set into motion or to
develop the desired HRD processes and outcomes. However, mere introduction of
country today that claim that they have been able to generate a good HRD climate
have a HRD culture without having a HRD department or without using any HRD
systems. That requires good leadership at the top, vision and building of HRD values
from the inception of an organization. Such HRD values may have been promoted in
are being professionally developed, systemic interventions is the only way to develop
and institutionalise processes and a new culture. HRD process and climate cannot be
developed in any simple way in organizations that are already in existence and have
already evolved a way of life. Process changes can be brought in through systemic
interventions faster if the inventions are designed properly, taken seriously and re
In sum, the following can be postulated about the linkages between HRD
11
1) HRD departments, and HRD mechanisms are useful instruments for initiating
outcomes.
2) HRD mechanisms and sub-systems should be designed keeping in view the HRD
facilitating the institution of HRD processed and culture or not whether the
4) Irrespective of how well the mechanisms are designed and implemented, if the top
commitment of all employees, the HRD mechanisms may become mere rituals
HRD processes.
5) Even when the HRD mechanisms are well designed, the top management is
internalization of HRD processes and culture remain a slow process and any take
12
Figure I
Development
Exercises
• Training
• Communication
Policies
• Job Rotation
• OD Exercises
• Rewards
13
• Job-enrichment
programmes
• Other
Mechanisms
Other Factors
Environment,
Other Factors Technology, Resource
Availability, History,
Personnel Policies, Nature of Business etc.
Top Management
Styles, Investments on
HRD. Top
Management’s
Commitments,
History, Previous
Culture, Line
Manager’s Interest etc.
The Objective of any HRD effort is to build human competencies, to build a climate and
14
objectives are many. These include : development of competencies of individuals (both
in relation to work and as individuals and their potential for future), developing
competencies of dyads (boss-subordinate dyads from top to bottom), of teams and for
In every organization a group of people are needed to think constantly in terms of the
above objectives, assess the extent to which the above objectives are being achieved,
generate mechanisms to achieve the above objectives and keep reviewing the processes
and rejuvenating the instruments. This group is the HRD group or the HRD Department.
These organization that recognise this, have started HRD departments and recruited HRD
staff.
A good number of industrial and commercial organizations have HRD staff or HRD
departments. In other organizations this role is performed either by the Personnel Chief
who is at a senior level or by the Chief Executive himself. In the non-profit sector his
realisation is just coming. Only small number of organizations like the universities and
The most frequently used development instruments are “Performance Appraisals” and
momentums in the last one decade. However, many organizations are still mixing up
development goals with control and administration goals reducing the effectiveness of
15
“counselling sessions” etc. rather than “appraisal ratings”, “promotions” and “rewards”
seem to achieve HRD goals far more and far better. However, accomplishing HRD goals
through training, although the nature of HRD goals achieved through these two types of
Role analysis exercises have helped a great deal in some organizations to bring about role
clarity and setting the climate for development. Some organizations have used role
analysis exercises to generate basic information about the key functions associated with
each role and the key competencies required to perform these functions. Such basic data
is being sued for recruitment, promotion decisions and potential appraisal, performance
planning and performance development through training. Training needs are also being
View few organizations are using job-rotation as a HRD mechanism, although a number
of them carry out rotation exercises. In a HRD oriented job-rotation there is a philosophy
OD exercise are being sued by a few organizations largely for developing team spirit,
16
Some of these instruments are discussed in detail in this course. The next few units in
this Block present in detail the HRD strategies and case studies. The case studies
In this course, emphasis has been laid on supervision, counselling and mentoring and
training. Line managers play an important role in HRD. They facilitate their own
development and that of their subordinates through feedback and counselling, mentoring,
Human competencies are very critical for those working in services. Those in banking
sector, voluntary agencies, rural development, health and family planning, education and
other service sectors have to deal constantly with people. For example, a family welfare
worker deals directly with other people and most often those who had less of education.
He needs to influence their thinking and bring attitude change. Because of this,
exception in some ways as that is one system where HRD has been given due importance.
There are some successful experiences available in our country from these sectors. These
17
1.6 HRD ISSUES
HRD is a growing field. It is also a complex area. As the knowledge based in HRD
developing, many issues are also emerging. These issues deal with structuring of the
HRD function, creating HRD climate, the HRD instruments and processes for workers,
HRD-OR-IR linkages, development of HRD professionals etc. These issues are dealt
The Centre for HRD at XLRI, Jamshedpur surveyed the practices of 53 public and
private sector organizations (Rao and Abrham, 1985). From this survey the following
1) About 32% of them had a formally stated policy focusing on HRD. Another
59% did not have a formally stated HRD policy but claimed to emphasize it.
18
3) In 30% of these organizations there is a separate HRD department and in
another 38% of them the HRD function is a part of the personnel function
5) Some form of identification of tasks and targets jointly by the appraiser and
6) About 55% of them had a definite training policy. For example, one of the
organizations surveyed had a policy that all the executives should be trained in
department.
7) Fifty per cent of the organizations reported that they have someone to look
activity or the other by the time of the survey. In most of these organization
the OD activity was focussed on team building and role clarity exercise.
26% for interpersonal sensitivity and personal growth and 15% on stress
management.
19
8) About 80% of the organizations required their executives to counsel their
This is a very positive trend. IN the last few years there are more improvements in
HRD and today most organizations have much stronger HRD function and innovative
In the last decade the Bombay sector has shown a great degree of involvement in
HRD due to their fast growth. Most of the banks have HRD departments or HRD
managers. Several of them have revised their appraisal systems to make them more
many other innovative HRD activities (Khandelwal, 1988). However, in the recent
past their HRD activity has slowed down as their growth pattern changed and the
HRD staff are attempting to come up with new methodologies to cope up with the
changed situation.
20
HRD is most needed in a country like India for the development of service sectors.
For example, schools and colleges, universities, national level research institutions,
centres etc. need continuous competence development of their staff who have to act
and complex skills to deal with people (particularly in rural India) and influence their
attitudes, habits and behaviour. Unfortunately very little is being done so far apart
from increasing the number of training programme, for these agents. Training
1.9 SUMMARY
Being very first unit of the course it deals with different basic aspect of HRD viz., what is
HRD, why HRD and so on, having explained the importance of HRD recognised by the
explained with its rationale and implications. HRD mechanisms, instruments, trends and
practices have also been discussed in detail, thereby touching all the basic issues in HRD.
21
1.10 FURTHER READINGS
Khandelwal, A Human Resource Development in Banks, New Delhi; Oxford & IBH,
1988.
Roa, T. V. and Abraham, E., A Survey of HRD Practices in Indian Industry in Rao, T. V.
and Pereira, D. F., Recent Experience in HRD. New Delhi, Oxford & IBD, 1985.
22
UNIT 2 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Objectives
After going through this unit, you should be able to do comparative study of :
Structure
2.1 Introduction
23
2.12 State Bank of India (SBI)
2.1 INTRODUCTION
HRD goals or HRD outcomes. The course of action may deal with the choice of various
means to achieve the desired goal and a plan for implementing the chosen activity or
action. Thus HRD strategy adopted by an organization may deal with the following
dimensions:
1) What are the HRD goals ? What major purposes is the HRD strategy
supposed to serve ?
2) What instruments are expected to be used ? In what order are they expected
3) What are the ways in which the HRD methods/instruments are envisaged to be
implemented ?
24
In this unit these issues are explained in detail. The strategy used to explain these
A few organizations that have attempted to develop HRD are chosen and brief
descriptions about these organizations and their decisions to implement HRD are
presented below. Inferences about the strategies they have used are made
subsequently*.
In the earlier unit HRD strategies used by different public sector and private sector
organizations initiated and strengthened HRD activities were also presented. In this
unit more detailed case studies of some select organizations are presented. The case
studies presented here are based on the actual HRD experiences written and presented
by senior managers for their respective organizations. These case studies were
presented and discussed in two of the annual conferences of the National HRD
Network. One of them was held at Madras in 1987 and another at Delhi in 1989.
* The case studies and inferences reported here are taken from an earlier published
HRD Newsletter of the Centre for HRD XLRI, Jamshedpur and the National HRD
Network.
25
The HRD experiences narrated in this unit reflect the HRD practices existing at that
time in the organizations. It is believed that the HRD activities undertaken by these
explained in Unit 1, the organizational outcomes (output, profit, productivity, etc.) are
influenced by a variety of factors. The HRD climate and HRD culture is only one of
Therefore, an excellent HRD profile, excellent HRD practices and excellent HRD
climate at a given point of time may not guarantee continued effectiveness of the
organization for all times at come. HRD profiles need to be constantly upgraded and
These case studies therefore, should be taken as illustrations of HRD activities and
not necessarily as examples for blind imitation. The case studies are intended to
HRD in Larsen and Toubro Limited : The first case study on Larsen and Toubro
introduced. The case illustrates how various sub-systems of HRD were introduced
26
and strengthened simultaneously. The gaps in HRD implementation are not
discussed.
HRD in State Bank of India : The second case study prepared by T. P. Raman
system described in this case has many learning points for large organizations.
experimented with a simulation exercise to assess and develop the potential of their
Greaves, the experience has many interesting learnings. The description by Susan
Varughese presented in detail the process of developing and using this exercise. As
potential appraisal is highly neglected area, this experience may be very illustrative of
Turn-around in SAIL : The Steel Authority of India Limited was used HRD
philosophy and interventions for a turn-around of the company. The case study
management team of SAIL are very illustrative of the change process HRD can
27
initiate and accomplish. This case illustrates specially how cultural change can be
HRD for Workmen at Eicher : Eicher is known for its HRD activities in the recent
years. The case by P. K. Kapase and A. K. Arora focuses on HRD for workmen in
one of their units. This case study is illustrative of how the quality of work-lie can be
enhanced using a humanistic approach. The case also illustrates the lessons one can
HRD at C-DOT : This case by Sunil Abrol, S. Chakraborty and Sangeeta Sant
illustrate how HRD practices can be integrated into the work culture of the
organization. The case also presents various learning points for using HRD practices
1) These cases may be read and discussed in small groups. The following questions
organization ?
28
ii) Which of the practices seem to be more critical or effective in that
organization ?
iii) How did these practices influence the HRD climate of the organization ?
iv) How do you characterise the HRD climate or culture of each organization ?
2) These case studies should be read once again after completing all the four blocks
3) Visit any organization in your city and try to prepare a similar case study of HRD
in that organization.
L&T probably the first organization in India to introduce an integrated HRD system. The
HRD system was suggested by consultants while they were looking at the performance
appraisal system for officers. The consultants felt that a development oriented
planning and development, training and OD. HRD system was introduced by L & T in
29
the year 1975 with the introduction of Performance Appraisal and Feedback and
and development, training and OD. HRD system as introduced by L & T in the year
1975 with the introduction of Performance Appraisal and Feedback and Counselling sub-
systems. A high level task force was constituted to implement the HRD system. The
task force functioned upto the year 1979. L & T had a strong training department which
prior to this. These were further strengthened with the introduction HRDS by linking
HRDS was also marked by the bifurcation of the Personnel Department into Personnel
and HRD departments. The critical attributes required for various jobs were also
CGL started thinking about introducing HRD systems in1979-80 when an ambitious
using external consultants and internal Human Resource Department, a climate was
created where manager started looking forward for HRD interventions. Decision to
introduce HRD systems in a systematic way was taken by the top management after a
presentation to the top management to and details of such a system. A high level HRD
task force was constituted to implement the HRD system. The task force identified Role
30
role analysis exercises were completed bringing about increased clarity of roles through
the use of role-set groups. The role analysis exercises were extensive and involved
several top management teams. A new performance appraisal system with considerable
emphasis on team work was evolved. Performance counseling was also introduced
With phenomenal growth in its business in the seventies and stiff competition in the
Indian and International Market, the Engineering and Construction Corporation Ltd.
wanted to reorganize itself to meet the new challenges and opportunities . An external
consultant was used to look into the organisation and suggest changes. As a part of his
the process of change and increase role effectiveness. The OD process was started in
A group of senior executive was formed into an OD group to design and implement OD
intervention with the help of the OD consultant. Role analysis exercises were conducted
initially to bring about more role clarity, the need for which was indicated by the
diagnostic study. The role analysis exercises also resulted in building the OD group as a
tem. The OD group identified several issues facing the company, prioritinised them and
formed task forces to work on these issues. One of the issues identified on a priority
31
basis was performance appraisal. Another was reward system. As a result of the OD
HRD function is Jyoti was started in 1980 in a modest way with the appointment of a
HRD manager. The function was started to catalyse and facilitate individual growth and
organisation effectiveness. The HRD effort in early years resulted in attempts to redesign
the performance appraisal systems. These efforts did not result in any changes due to
problems of acceptance. It was only in 1982 that renewed efforts were made by the new
HRD manager to introduce various HRD sub-systems and processes. Conducting in-
performance appraisal systems using participative processes etc. were some of the HRD
1983, the HRD department used the opportunity to initiate OD activities in some parts of
32
2.6 TVS IYENGAR & SONS
TVS & Sons has a long tradition of being an organisation with concern for its employees.
With changing environment by late seventies TVS & Sons started facing a highly
Recognising this need the company took a decision to divide the personnel function into
personnel administration and HRD and started a HRD department in 1983. The
maintain fairness and justice and to develop problem prevention competencies. The
HRD department was given the functions of manpower planning, job rotation, training,
education, research and organisational analysis, attitude surveys and reports, control and
systematized and manpower planning is being done to prepare the organisation for a
better future.
The top management of Voltas always believed that their people are their strength. This
belief has been brought to focus in the last few years through mechanisms like
33
performance appraisal, counseling, management development, communication policy,
potential appraisal, training etc. Voltas did not have a department separately for HRD
apart from their training and manpower development unit which was a part of the
company in a variety of ways. In 1977 itself while reviewing the reasons for its poor
performance, the Managing Director identified the inadequate attention paid to the
and regular flow of information. Voltas have revised their performance appraisal systems
from time to time. In 1982-83 they redesigned the managerial appraisal system focusing
SFL is a member of the TVS group of companies. Starting its manufacturing operations
in 1966, they diversified into Cold Extrusion in 1976. They opened a second fastener
plant in 1981. IN 1983 they further diversified into manufacturing Powder Metal
Products with German collaboration. They sales turn-over rose from Rs. 4 crores in
34
Products with German collaboration. Their sales turn-over rose from Rs. 4 crores in
1977-78 to Rs. 27 crores in 1984-85. This steep growth in a short period from a single
for HRD in the company. The multi-location produced a depletion in trained manpower
and consequent problems and gaps at various levels. The HRD department is placed in
the Corporate Planning & Development Wing. The HRD unit started working on
performance appraisal system, training and development, rewards, and career planning.
For introducing the new appraisal system, extensive research was done, a new system
was evolved, experimented and finally adopted after conducting oriented programmes.
communicate the top managements interest. Training needs were identified through PAS
and the training function was strengthened. SFL is working on the other mechanisms
simultaneously.
BEML is one of the few public sector companies that have shown consistently steady and
fast growth in the last 15 years. During 1976-77 the top management decided to
reorganize BEML to make it grow at a much faster pace. External consultants were
consultants with the help of a high level internal task force suggested a new
35
organisational structure. Along with the new structure, they recommended the
introduction of HRD system to develop the competencies of the BEML staff. In 1978,
the Personnel Department was upgraded with a General Manager in-charge of it and
renamed as Human Resources Department. A Director level position was also created.
An Advisor at the General Manager level was also hired to implement the HRD system in
training career development and potential appraisal exercises were initiated in 1978 and
1979. The appraisal system was modified subsequently over a period of time and the
BHEL, Bhopal, maintained a constant upward trend of production from 1972-73 till
1976-77. In 1977 there was a sudden dip in production which caused considerable. A
using internal task forces as well as external consultants. These include management
organizational health and motivational climate etc. The company is in the process of
36
2.11 BANK OF BARODA (BOB)
The HRD Department in Bank of Baroda was established in the year 1978 as a part of the
Personnel Department. The need for a separate HRD department to look after manpower
by the Bank to suggest mechanisms to strengthen the Head Office. After its
establishment the HRD department brought about major changes in the appraisal system
for officers. The Employee Performance Review System ( EPRS) was finalised using top
appraisal and review are some of the components of the new system. The HRD
department also enriched the training function and prepared eventually a skill-inventory
covering about 10,000 employees for use for various Human Resource Decisions. In the
first year of implementation of EPRS itself, the HRD department made 72 interventions
towards department decisions. Officers were trained in the new system through 65
A decision to introduce HRD system was taken at a workshop attended by the Chairman
of the SBI and the Managing Directors of SBI and its associate banks. The workshop
37
The associate banks appointed HRD managers subsequently but could not make much
headway except designing a new appraisal format common to all associate banks and
conducting periodic surveys on motivational climate. It was only in 1979 when the SBI
appointed a Chief General Manager, Personnel & HRD and a Chief Officer, HRD at the
Central Office, that the HRD started gaining momentum in the SBI. Simultaneously
HRD departments were started and HRD managers appointed in different circles of the
system. Given on size of the organisation, with about 40,000 officers to be covered,
and orientation of all staff to the philosophy and objectives of the new system. After
about 5 years of experimentation and evolution the new appraisal system was formally
introduced by the bank in 1986. The HRD department of the SBI also started working
HRD department was started in the State Bank of Patiala in 1976. It had the objective of
developing systems for developing and harnessing the talents of people and meet the
challenging expectations of the community. In the early years the HRD activities was
limited to training and survey feedback. In the early eighties the department started
playing an important role under the leadership of an MD who strongly believed in HRD.
38
The training system was streamlined, a job-rotation programme was undertaken, OD
work aiming at team development was initiated in some branches, and a new
performance appraisal system is being evolved. The bank also worked out a human
resources information system which was used for career planning and manpower
IOC has about 31,000 employees and fifth of them are officers. Beginning from 1964 the
company had grown big in size and started experiencing problems like communications
and logistics with indications of some degree of alienation among its employees. With
the ever-changing environment the company felt the need for an examination of its
organisational health for self-renewal. To meet this need, the Corporation started new
functions. Corporate planning functions was started for carrying out environment
scanning, a resource audit was initiated to decide strategic options. HRD function was
initiated to prepare the organisation to implement the strategic options. The HRD
department was established in June, 1983 with the task of designing a comprehensive
HRD system and implementing it. The HRD department’s work began by the Chief
HRD Manager conducting a role analysis exercise in the context of the HRD needs of the
divisions. The department also conducted a series of workshops with the top
management and senior executives to evolve and clarity the role of the HRD department.
HRD. In 1984 HRD departments were set up in Refineries and Pipelines division and
39
Marketing Headquarters and a seminar was conducted to develop HRD personnel to take
up HRD tasks. A series of workshops were conducted to create a positive climate in the
company for implementing HRD. Along with these, surveys were conducted to measure
the organisational climate. Role analysis exercises were conducted to bring about role
clarity. The role set based approach was used for this purpose. Key Performance Areas
and critical attributes created with each focal role were also worked out. The process of
implementation of HRD was being fed to the Board periodically and the Board kept
taking decisions. For example, in 1985, on the basis of the progress report, the Board
decided to set up HRD departments in each unit of Refineries and Pipelines division and
in each region of Marketing division. A three week intensive programme was offered
for all HRD staff. About 40 workshops were conducted upto mid 1986 to enhance the
SAIL is the biggest industrial company with assets worth Rs. 6,000 crores and employees
numbering 2,50,000. The new Chairman who took over in 1985, found in his diagnostic
efforts that SAIL’s manpower is its biggest strength but it has not been but to full use.
He got a feeling that SAIL has become a bureaucratic organization and its image could be
far better and its employees can do a lot more, the result of which will have an impact on
number of executives to reflect and work out priorities for action. This internal
mobilization of human resource led to the identification of priorities which included the
40
improvement in work culture, capacity utilisation, productivity, control of cost and
customer services. Work culture was sought to be improved through team work,
objectives. The new appraisal system is very such of a HRD oriented system requiring
offices to identify tasks and targets every years, anticipate constraints, plan actions to
overcome them, review performance, identify developmental needs and counsel poor
performers to help them develop. Thus without bringing in any structural changes like
adding new departments SAIL is set to evolve a new culture that value human beings at
work.
General observations are made below on the basis of an analysis of HRD experiences of
these 14 companies.
From an analysis of the HRD experiences of these companies, the source of inspiration
for introducing new HRD system seem to come from one or more of the following :
41
1) To support the structural and strategic changes made by the organisation to
orchestrate its growth and expansion (BEML, IOC, SBI, L&T, ECC, Jyoti, CGL,
responsibility to promote it for the goods of the organisation (L&T, SBI, SBP and
Voltas)
externally (high competition and falling market situation etc.) IOC, BHEL, TVS
and SAIL.
4) To keep the image of the company up by adding such modern instruments to its
From this, it may be concluded that most companies seem to perceive HRD as an
Operating Mode
Having decided to strengthen the HRD function, how does one go about doing it ? There
42
ii) Strengthening the Personnel Department by equipping them with new
iii) Training all managers and making them recognise their role in HRD without
iv) Adding the HRD role to the other roles of the Chief Executive or some top level
managers.
v) Using task-forces (SAIL, partially SBI, BEML, BHEL, L & T, ECC, CGL).
vi) Setting up HRD departments or equivalents (IOC, SBI, SBP, BEML, BHEL, L&T
The most frequently used mode seems to be by setting up a new HRD department. Only
Voltas, SAIL and CGL seem to be exceptions. These organizations have not set up any
new HRD departments but enrichment the existing ones (for example, in the case of
Voltas the manpower department unit was given HRD role). All others have set up either
HRD departments or OD units. Of the fourteen companies, only three chose the
operating mode of using the existing personnel departments for HRD work. The only
organization that did not make any substantial changes in the structure of their personnel
department is SAIL. But by the time SAIL started working on the new appraisal system
and priorities for action (an OD intervention) they already had a strong Personnel
Department with HRD orientations at every level. They even had OD managers and
43
fairly good training centres. On top of if, the Chairman himself is a person committed to
a HRD philosophy. It is only when such favourable conditions exist, using the existing
personnel departments seem to be a variable operating mode for initiating HRD activities.
More than 50% of the organizations seem to use them. In L &T, ECC, CGL, BEML,
monitoring the implementation. The task-force consisted mostly of senior level line
mangers.
strategies. It may be noted here that using internal task-forces has been found to be
useful strategy for bringing about organizational change using performance appraisals
Integrating Role
The creation of a new HRD department or new function of HRD can be called as a step in
the direction of “differentiation” using the model of Lawrence and Lorch (1967). When
such differentiation of task and functions is made there is also a need to have integrating
mechanisms. An analysis of the experience of those organizations that have set up new
44
HRD departments indicates that a senior corporate level executive dealing with personnel
function of the entire company seems to have been assigned the integrating role to play.
In Voltas, SAIL and CGL, where there is no separate HRD department or functionary,
the need for integration is much less as HRD is an integral part of the personnel function.
that role. In IOC, it is the Director Personnel who plays the role, as both HRD and
personnel departments report to him. In SBI, it is the Chief General Manger, Personnel
and HRD as well as the Deputy Managing Director, Personnel, who integrate. In SBP,, it
is the General Manager Planning and the MD himself. In BEML, it is the GM Human
Resource and Director Personnel. In L & T it is the Vice President Personnel and OD. In
Jyoti, the Managing Director himself performs this role. In Bank of Baroda, it is the
DGM Personnel. In L&T ECC, the DGM, Personnel and OD report the MD. Thus the
Integrating function seems to lie with a top level manager. This could be an advantage as
well as a disadvantage for HRD. The advantage is that HRD functionaries have access to
the top. The disadvantage is that if the top manager does not understand or believe in
By and large commercial organisation tend to initiate change process only if they find the
change as needed or useful for achieving their goals. However, eternal consultant seem
to play an important role in identifying the nature of change required and for providing
45
directions. Out of the 14 organisations, more than 50% had external consultants. They
suggested that HRD function may be initiated. For example, in BEML it was
recommended as a part of reorganization for expansion. In State Bank of India and its
associates it was session on HRD led by an external consultant that stimulated thinking
consultants. L&T used consultants to review the performance appraisal system but the
consultants felt the need to have an integrated HRD. In ECC the personal function was
Another interesting point to note is that most of the organisation have used or use
implementing HRD.
(IOC, BEML, SBI and ECC. In IOC, role analysis was attempted in action
research at project areas. In BEML, the new appraisal system was tried out in
1978 experimentally in two departments and then in the entire company. SBI’s
46
performance appraisal was experimented in Ahmedabad circle before it was
implemented).
3) Training of internal change agents or resource persons (IOC, SBI, SBP, BEML,
BHEL, L7T, ECC, CGL and SAIL). In large organisation involving several
philosophy appears as the most important first step. Since everyone cannot be
useful in implementation. For example in SAIL, the first phase of the new
appraisal system required the training of about 8,000 officers and in State Bank of
India the system was to cover nearly 35,000 officers spread all over the country.
In L & T it was about 1,200 in BEML about 1,500 and ECC about 700. Hence,
BHEL, SAIL). Very few organisations seem to have used outside help for
monitoring the implementation. Even in BEML, ECC L & T and SAIL, the
questionnaires were used to monitor the implementation in the first year. L & T is
the only company that frequently used internal monitoring systems and
47
Periodic Reviews of the Sub-system : L & T is the only organisation that used
external consultants for periodic review of the HRD system, Once it was
implemented. Initially it was reviewed by the very consultants who designed, and
ahs been working with the company. In no other case was an external consultant used
for systematic review. Internal task-forces, review meetings etc. are in built into the
system for implementation but a thorough and systematic review by external agents
HRD aims at bringing a change in the organizational culture to facilitate the development
and utilization of people. Such a change is a continuous process and may take place
incrementally. In order to hasten this process and institutionalise the new culture, it is
was perceived as a potential instruments for bringing about such changes in perceivable
magnitude. L&T started their HRD system with this belief and, therefore, focussed on
Performance Appraisal sub-system from the year 1975 BEML, SBI, BOB, Jyoti TVS,
CGL, Voltas, SAIL and SFL are other examples of initiating the new HRD function with
further strengthened their training system and linked it up with appraisals and
48
further strengthened their training system and linked it up with appraisals and
training, initiated some OD exercises (which were discontinued later) and improved their
career planning and development practices. SBI also introduced OD exercises and
BOB also started working on manpower planning and skill inventory and also linked it up
with training to some degree. Jyoti, after making a few abortive attempts to introduce
new appraisals, quickly switched over to OD interventions and new functions as well as
career planning and promotion system and linked appraisal with promotion and other
reward systems. CGL, although started with performance appraisal were fast enough to
recognise the complexities involved in developing and using appraisals. They shifted
their focus simultaneously to role analysis and potential development exercises and also
IOC is probably an exception. As a strategic move, they did not want to touch the
appraisal system until a climate was created for officers. They wanted the officers to start
thinking about appraisals and wanted the change to come from within. So their focus was
on developing role-clarity through identification KPAs and critical probably learnt a few
49
lessons from the experience of others that started with intensive work on Performance
Appraisals.
OD strategy to bring about change was used by BHEL and ECC, SAIL and Jyoti also
used OD type interventions without change in appraisals. The OD strategy also seem to
have paid some dividends as ECC was able to move on and strengthen several other sub-
systems. BHEL brought about change in the problem-solving abilities of their people
through their OD interventions but have not been able to move on to use other
approach. Performance appraisal based strategy seem to take time for its impact to
be felt. Role Analysis and OD interventions may get somewhat more perceptible
results in the short run. Irrespective of the initiating mechanism, the organisation
should be able to use other instructions simultaneously to have an impact. This may also
The experiences of these 14organiations also indicate some evidence of learning from
one or other, making modifications and evolving own systems to suit one’s culture.
50
L & T is the first to start an integrated HRDS and L & T’s HRD system has inspired
several other organisations. After studying L &T’s and other systems some of the
organisations have evolved their own. For example, in the appraisal system used by these
Most of them have self-appraisal, performance planning through task identification and
identification of training needs (e.g., L 7 T, SAIL, SBI, BEML, Voltas, ECC, SFL etc.).
ECC which became a part of L & T a few yeas ago developed a system somewhat
different from L & T. While developing the new system they have learnt from the
experiences of the parent company. The system is titled as `Performance Analysis and
Development System’ and not an appraisal system. Some of the organizations have
preferred to use the term performance review discussions rather than calling them
“Performance Counselling” sessions. This is because they found that the terms
“Counselling” itself had negative connation in the mind of managers (e.g. ECC, SFL,
SAIL etc.) . SFL has even introduced a third persons ( a representative of HRD
Similarly, SBI and SBP introduced many innovations in their OD efforts, for example,
their manager-to messenger programme. In this programme higher officer visits a branch
and meets all the staff and spends a full day understanding their problems, and helping
them to design action plans to solve their branch’s problems. This develop team spirit,
branch-level problem solving, upwards communications and a feeling of being cared for
by the organization. Another innovation made by SBI was to train a group of branch
51
managers in some of the circles as OD facilitators. The assumption was that after a group
of branch mangers are trained, they can become internal OD consultants and any branch
manager could invite them to help him improve the branch effectiveness. This process
becomes a mutual learning experience. It worked better in one place than in another. It
did
HRD System and HRD culture is new to many organizations. Even if some
organizations have already been informal HRD mechanisms, strengthening the HRD
from top management down. This takes long time. For quicker understanding and
seems to arrange organize orientation workshops and seminars to make the line manager
aware and seminars orientation training was limited to the sub-system they are
introducing and in the other case, the orientation training was limited to the sub-system
they are introducing and in the other cases, irrespective of the sub-system introduces, a
general HRD orientation seems to have been given to line managers. For example, L & T
oriented all other officers to the new HRD system and trained them more intensely in the
new appraisal and counselling systems. BEML also followed the same strategy. SBI,
however, limited its orientation programmes largely to the new appraisal system they
were evolved annual HRD conference a method of orienting all senior staff to all aspect
52
of HRD. ECC went on orienting their line managers to any new process that was being
evolved. The OD groups consisting of all senior managers were being oriented
organized for their line managers on some aspect of HRD or the other. This is very
healthy trend set by these organizations. Involvement and participation of line managers
When an orientation workshop is conducted for lien managers explaining to them a new
introducing a new performance appraisal system, the normal tendency on the part of the
organization is to point the disadvantages of the old system and the advantages of the
new system. This raises expectations and high standards, are set in the minds of line
managers; they know ideally what should happen and keep looking for the ideal to
happen. As a result, it has been found that howsoever well a system is implemented, line
managers and managements should recognize this fact and not get disappointed with the
criticism and lack of appreciations from line managers. This make the HRD managers’
role complex and for that reasons he needs a lot of support from top management.
53
Top Management’s Involvement
The setting up and structuring of the HRD department is itself an indicator, of the top
managements’ involvement. Most of the organizations described here have shown a high
degree of involvement, of the top management at one stage or the other or at least in one
component or the other. In SAIL the Chairman took personal interest and attended most
of the top level seminars on `Priorities for Action : The Director, Personnel and the
In L & T all the Vice-Presidents and General Managers, periodically reviewed the
programmes. In CGL the Managing Director himself chairs the HRD task-force and
allocates time for HRD review in the quarterly performance review meetings held by the
top management. In IOC, the board keeps reviewing progress of HRD implementation
and gives support to the HRD department. In Voltas, the MD himself attends
In SBI, periodic review meetings are held by the Chairman MD and DY. MD with the
HRD staff, In SBP the MD himself monitors the annual HRD Conference. In Jyoti, the
MD himself played the faculty role in some programmes for senior managers and
looks that in almost all the organizations analysed here there are indications of top
54
However, there is a darker side of the picture. First of all in our culture if the top
they have time bound appointments, the Stabilisation of system becomes difficult. Line
managers may appear to follows the HRD process to please the top management rather
than out of their own conviction. In such cases, as the Chairman or MD is changed, some
HRD practices may be discontinued. Secondly, when there is a change in the top
appointments is to undo what their predecessor has done by dismantling previous systems
and adding his own. For example, BEML started off in a big way but the system suffered
a setback as its Chief Executives changed in 2quick succession and some of them did not
give themselves enough time to understand what their predecessors have done. The
quickly changed system. In this process sometimes opportunistic line manager may
transmit their prejudices to the new Chief Executive. Continued top management
involvement is most essential for HRD systems to stabilize. For example, for Stabilising
the new culture associated with Performance Appraisal, 3-5years of time may be required
In this context, training of the top management in the new system and culture becomes
very important. Only a few of the organisations have been able to recognize and
implement this. For want of this, the top management support may weaken over a period
of time as top level managers have many other things to attend to that can give tangible
results.
55
Overview of HRD Instruments and Sub-systems
The HRD function itself has been initiated in most organizations in the last few years
only. Some of them are yet to make their presence felt. It also reveal that no
organization has yet introduced, all the HRD mechanisms presented. Several
organizations have just few of these and even thee are being evolved or experimented
and complete system of HRD at all. Probably L & T comes closer to having a
comprehensive system but its synergistic effects are yet to be experienced by the
company. Among the others, SBI SAIL, SFL, ECC, IOC, CGL, TVS Voltas, SBP are on
organizations taking a long enough time to dilute the spirit of HRD existing today, if
they do not act fast. More vision, leadership and dynamism are required for
In the context of the HRD effects model presented earlier it is appropriate to look for an
assessment of the extent to which HRD processes and outcomes have resulted from the
HRD practices. As mentioned earlier, mere institution of HRD mechanism may not
result in HRD process. A number of other variables may be affecting the HRD
processes. Our analysis also how shown that some variables like top managements
commitment appear to be fairly good and efforts were made in many cases to involve line
56
managers. Given these conditions a fairly high degree of HRD culture and outcomes
should be seen. One would look for evidence in terms of improved HRD climate or
A search for any evidence on these variables indicates that there is very little evidence of
any attention having been paid even to the measurement of these variables.
Organizations introducing HRD practices should have designed some way to measure the
HRD processes at the time of introducing HRD mechanism and keep obtaining HRD
climate Questionnaire by Rao and Abrahm (1986). This Questionnaire measures the
Administrating this Questionnaire in 1983 December first and 1985 February later in
State Bank of Patiala it was found that in 40 out of 43 dimensions dimensions HRD
climate improved (Agrawal, 1986). SBP is probably the only organization that has
However, HRD climate data were available for half the 14 organization (Voltas, Jyoti,
SBI, L & T CGL and SBP, IOC) from a survey of the HRD climate conducted by SXLRI
Centre for HRD in 1984 (Rao and Abrahim, 1986, discusses details of this). An
57
examination of the HRD climate existing in 1984 revealed that L & T and Voltas have a
HRD Climate falling in high range (around 60% on a 100 point scale) and the remaining
five are in the middle range (around 50%). Between Voltas and L & T, Voltas scored
less than L & T . In fact L & T is one among the top few scores on HRD Climate in
1984. All these companies may have improved much more in the last two years as their
HRD mechanism get more attention in the last two years. Only a repeat survey can give
more insights. Some of these companies however, have been collecting process data as
part of the monitoring. Perhaps L & T is one company that has been collecting the
process development data systematically from time to time. These data to indicate that
there has been a substantial strengthening of HRD process. HRD outcome variables have
BHEL, Bhopal, also has been collecting data on organizational health periodically out the
extent to which improvements have taken place is not known. In BEML periodic surveys
were conducted at the time of introducing the new system during 1978-79. For example,
after the first trial run of the new appraisal system 63% of the officers felt that they could
performance, 44% discovered areas where they can improve themselves and so on.
These kind soft evidence available can provide only a week support to the fact that the
outcomes. One has to fall back on ones own convocation for supporting HRD
instruments. As top mangers of some organizations may not want ton continue
58
supporting HRD only on the basis of conviction, it is high time hat the HRD managers
and departments start maintaining profiles of HRD changes that are taking place in their
organization using periodic survey and other methods. There is great need to develop
these indictors.
Organizational Effectiveness
Almost all the 14 organizations have done well in the last few years. A few of the have
gone through or are still going through turbulence environment now and then, but all of
them have stood strong. On the whole, each organization had done well although to a
varying degree. For example, Larsen & Toubro, BHEL, ECC, BEML, SBI etc., have
done exceedingly well in the last few years. The Chairman of all these companies make
presumptuous to say that HRD has largely contributed to the profits and growth of these
companies. However, contributions of HRD cannot be ignored. For example, when the
Chairman and President of L & T says that the success of L & T is due to the positive
attitudes and dedicated efforts of its people, he means it. The extent to which HD efforts
had contributed to such dedication and positive attitudes is not easily quantifiable but one
believes that HRD efforts did play a significant role. TO prove r disprove such
relationships one has to imagine the organisation without HRD departments and
mechanisms a well as discount the tendency of people to forty the past and ridicule the
present. What would have happened in SBI if it continued without introducing HRD
(i.e., without the new appraisals systems, manpower planning, skill inventory, orientation
59
programmes, OD exercise, HRD managers and the chief Officers an CGM ( P & HRD ) ?
Or what would have happened to Voltas if the top management did not have a HRD
orientation. Or what would have been the performance of SBP without all that emphasis
on HRD between 1983 and 1986? How world ECC brief the OD efforts and other efforts
Answers to such question are difficult to get scientifically and intuitive replies are
Future Direction
The most neglected group in HRD are the line mangers. The HRD effect will become
visible and stronger only when the line managers start accepting and internalizing their
own role. The success of HRD will be the day when every employee sees himself as a
developer of his subordinates. The HRD departments will not be need when such a
situation arises. In other words, HRD people should work towards their dispensability.
The second neglected group in HRD is the unionized categories of employees. HRD for
them also need to be attended last as they are in large numbers and form the foundation
Organisations have neglected this so far. Part of the reasons may be unions. But in the
are like HRD the union leaders also have a role to play. For their members they should
60
probably play the role HRD managers are playing today for supervisory staff and
managers.
The HRD managers should assist the unions and promote the spirit of collaboration.
Thirdly there should be more research in this filed to answer several of the questions
Appendix – I
Competency
Development
61
3. BOB Separate HRD 1978 DOM Strengthening
MD as Challenges
HRD
Taskforce
Challenges
OD Recognition of
Importance
Environment
and new
62
opportunities
Personnel
MD Manpower
MD Manpower
Challenges,
Competition
from Market
63
14. Voltas Recognising Latest Vice- Preparation for
Communication Excellence
Policies etc.
subsequently
Counselling , increased
Training OD
Building Controlled.
Exercise
64
Yes No. Performance Training, Skills Continuation of
and Training
Continued
Involvement of
Top
Management
Appraisal
Counselling Managements
Worker
Development
Critical
Attributes
65
Yes Yes Performance Critical HRD Climate
Critical
Attributes,
Training, HR
Information
Appraisal, Associated
Action Taken Up
HRD
Climate
66
NO No Performance Training, Involvement of
Clarity
Appraisal Emphasis on
Career
Development
Communications
67
UNIT 3 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
EXPERIECNES (CASES)
Objectives
After going through this unit, you should be able to make a comparative study of HRD
practices in different private and public sector organisations and make use of the earlier
Structure
3.1 Introduction
experience
68
3.1 INTRODUCTION
to describe. Behind performance individuals and behind resutls are people. HRD has
been idly accepted as one of the most effective tools for overall development of the
organisations. Now in India most of the developing organizations have either opened a
To give a feel o the actual practice and demonstration of HRD in organizations we have
taken up actual cases of several public and private sector organisations. Written by
These cases have been reproduced with permission from the book “Alternative
Abraham Sri and K. K. Verma and the book “Towards Organisations Effectiveness
69
3.2 HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN LARSEN AND
Larsen and Toubro Limited is probably the first organization in India to introduce an
Department, headed by a senior executive to implement the System. The whole exercise
of looking into the Human resources System was mainly due to the culture of
confidential nature and a one-way affair was not considered effective. The assessment
were not discussed and in many case very little use was made of the data generated from
1) To review the objectives of the appraisal system existing at that time and to
examine the extent to which the data colleted contributed to thee objective
4) To examine the reactions of the persons who use the appraisal forms – both
70
6) To determine the skills required for making the system effective and
operative (i.e., feedback counseling, etc. ) and the manner of building and
The IIMA team presented a report a report not only on Performance Appraisal but on
i) Performance Appraisal
v) Training
Annexure.
The Professor further recommended that the system be implemented `in to’ to obtain the
71
Implementation
The implementation was entrusted to a task force of senior executives and started with
the induction of a new Performance Appraisal System in 1975. Although the original
framework of the integrated HRD system has remained the same, the details have been
modified from time to time as per the feedback received and experience gained. The
question of gaining the maximum mileage from the system has been the uppermost in the
mind.
Performance Appraisal has always a dual approach, viz., Evaluation Approach and
Development Approach. One without the other makes the appraisal infective. However
the relative emphasis can be different. It was felt that the performance Appraisal will
have a heavy leaning towards the development of the employees and the evaluation to a
greater degree can be taken care of by the Potential Appraisal System. It was also
assumed that the relationship between the superior and the subordinate is very crucial for
the development. The essentials of the new Performance Appraisal System are :
72
c) It requires appraisal interview and counselling and feedback in an interaction
session with openness. The immediate superior is required to enter his rating
Before introducing the new appraisal system a number of training programmes were
conducted for exampling the system as well as for providing skills for receiving and
giving which is one of the most improvement aspects of the system. The progress of
implementation was instantly monitored through feedback and studies and the difficulties
faced were removed. A result of this the form and the system has been considerably
simplified. Around 80 to 85 percent of the forms are revived within ix weeks after the
target date which is an acceptable level considering the time required for counseling.
The forms are analysed and data submitted to the Vice-Presidents and General Managers.
The data give the rating of `high performers; and persons rated low. Another set of data
vie the facilitating and hindering factors GroupWise. These were used for finalishing
2) Time consuming
73
3) Too many routings
6) Becoming ritualistic
To counter the above, the rating system and the forms were simplified and the routings
were restricted to the immediate and Next superior. The numerical ratings were replaced
by qualitative ratings like `Excelling’, `Very Good’, `Good’, etc. An open ended self
appraisal was introduced and it was made mandatory to send the appraisal forms before
2) Review of accomplishments
74
ii) It allows subordinate to express his fallings about supervision, definition of
iii) Improvise the subordinate with developmental information an support for it.
iv) It helps both – the superior and the subordinate in planning of future work
goals.
Training
One of the most important HRD activities in L & T is its Training Programmes.
Event he top executives attend the programmes, especially designed for them. The
75
j) Desirability of disseminating recent developments in management concepts
During the last three years on an average 86 training programmes were conducted and
Programmes. But 650 persons were deputed every year to outside programmes during
Library, films and other audio-visual aids. The training programmes aim at developing
methods like role plays, case discussions, instrumented feedback and simulations
exercises are used in these programmes. Both line managers and outside experts are
invited to teach. Post training follow-up activates are also conducted by the HRD
Departments.
Critical Attributes
1) Technical/Professional Competence
76
2) Behavioural Skills
3) Managerial Skills
As a first step it was felt necessary to work out detailed job descriptions. From this data,
Critical Attributes were worked out. There taskforce were formed and they interviewed
Typical job descriptions were written and a master list of Critical Attributes with
Subsequently 3 to 6 persons from each functional area were taken away from the work
a) Technical/Professional Knowledge
77
They interacted with peer groups and finally selected the 10 most Critical Attributes for
echo position. Each attribute was further rated on a 9 point scale ( 9 would be regarded
as most Critical).
The nominal group technique was then used to avoid the drawbacks of groups pressures
and need for conformity. The steps involved in nominal group technique are :
2) Record Critically
6) Rank Attributes
The Critical Attributes for 160 positions have been worked out so far and have been
Personal Skills Inventory system is a data system which records the skills and
78
2) Languages Skills
4) Education
The basic purpose of the inventory is to help an internal search for candidates. The
Critical Attributes an Skills can be matched and likely candidates shrtilisted for a
vacancy.
The system has been tried out on tow the Units of L & T and will be implemented soon.
Potential Appraisal
L & T is still in the process of developing the potential appraisal system. The basic
ground work for an Assessment Centre Approach has been done. After the pilot run, we
Career Development
Attempts were made to draw career paths for same positions by collecting actual data
regarding the career progression of some of the managers. Likewise alternative paths
79
were also drawn based on the opinions of these managers. But these paths were
generally based on the existing job description and were not likely to include future
potentials.
For this reasons an alternative approach known as Self Assessment and Feedback
subordinates.
• Setting short-term and long-term objectives for personal growth and executive
effectiveness.
The participating can thus seek their carriers themselves instead of following the fixed
paths by knowing their strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities available in the
company.
80
Organization Development (OD)
OD activities were being undertaken by L & t on a selective basis, even before the
integrated HRD system way introduced. However, Or intervention were mostly limited
to instrumented feedback and laboratory method of training. In the late sixties and early
seventies Grid Programmes were conducted. IN the subsequent year a number of other
such other process competencies, L & T uses both internal teams an external consultants
in their OD work.
Conclusion
Though some work is still reaming to be done as can be expected from any live and
changing system, the HRD efforts have succeeded in achieving our goals. Ti is borne out
in a recent independent study Xavier Labour Relations Institute on the HRD Climate in L
& T and 20 other countries. The following give attributes out of 38 attributes, received
81
Performance Appraisal based an objective assessment 3.81
In other words, L & T managers seemed to have expressed these five characteristics as
82
Annexure
83
Data Storage &
Processing
1. Maintain Performance Appraisal
1. help employee in self- Organization
systematic Development
appraisal
information 1. Organisational
about the 2. Review his
performance in Diagnosis
individual 2. Team building
relation to the
employee : 3. Task Force
objective and other
history, 4. Other structural
behaviours
characteristics, and process
3. Check review done by
performance interventions
record, potential the superiors
4. Send summary like role
record, potential development,
information for central
record, job enrichment
promotions, storage and use.
job re-designing
other records, etc.
additional
qualifications,
remarket able Potential Appraisal
achievements, 1. Make thorough
salaries etc. potential
2. Supply files to appraisal of the Career Development &
departments employee once Career Planning
whenever in 3 years 1. Make new employee
solicited for 2. Appraisal the aware of the general
counselling, potential of the phases of their
career planning, employee development in the
training annually. Company.
purposes. 2. Plan with senior
3. Design data employee career
cards for paths.
computer 3. Plan development
4. Monitor feeding and copying
in and out of the strategies with
data. employees showing
5. Process data for limited potential.
research on
trends etc.
84
3.3 MAJOR HRD INITATIVE IN SAIL BY M. R. R. NAIR
The previous decade has been a tremendous change in the Iron and steel Industries all
over the world. The global scene has been characterised by declining demand as part of
the general slowdown of economic activity in the conventional group of industries, and
fierce competition within Industries and across continents. Companies have evolved
1) Reduction in capacity
3) Diversification
4) Investment in modernization
In this melee, Industries, such as the US Steel Industry, found that the capital needed
to catch up with the rest of the world was much more than what the market was
willing to put up, or what they could generate from their own internal resources.
In India, the situation is slightly different. The market is growing, and in fact, it is
expected that demand will double by the turn of the century. The essential strategy
was to remove constraints and increase production to meet the growing demand as
well as to improve quality and cost performance. To do this, the Company must
85
improve utilisation from existing assets and also invest in Modernisation of its
equipment. Here again the organisation must stablise its performance and structure to
receive the sophisticated technology as well as to generate the internal resources for
funding the Modernisation effort. This business strategy for SAIL has been summed
play in terms of :
The Approach
How did we go about it ? The turnaround strategy was initiated about two years ago. In
the first phase an organised attempt was made to collect feedback from the various
sections of industry with the top management, with the unit managements, with a cross-
section of the middle management, front line supervisors, workmen on the shop floor,
unions and associations. The process took almost five months. In all the discussions the
agenda was to identify the problems in the Company, opinions and perceptions of people,
how they felt that the Company was doing and what could be done internally to further
86
Out of this tremendous amount of feedback, which was all carefully documented, a
certain message began to filter out. And this was the message which the Company used
The Message
1) There was an insufficient appreciation of the crises facing the steel industry.
3) At all levels there was lack of goal and role clarity. People were not sure
4) There was far too much attention on day to day problems and less on quality,
On the basis for the discussions and the feedback collected, a document was drafted
which was called “Priorities for Action”. This document set forth the thrust areas in
which the industry needed to devote itself to improve its operations and prepare itself
3) Increase productivity
5) Customer satisfaction.
87
As stated, the “Priorities for Action” were structured to meet specific problem areas
within the organization and at the same time to highlight the possible solutions.
The focus here was on team work, communication, discipline and operating
consistency. It was established that unless we improved the work culture in the
where there were technological problems on the surface, a deeper analysis showed
that better performances were possible through a more effective man management. It
emphasised the crucial role of effective two way communication with the need to
explain to people the changes and their role in it. The document also spoke about the
how the lack of it can effect the productivity of the organization. The “Priorities for
and shift changeover delays. It was demonstrated that OT had little relationship with
production and that this, along with high absenteeism was an impediment to
work culture also meant building an organization which had the flexibility and the
resilience to accept changes. This meant cutting down the hierarchy, reduction of the
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responsibility levels, and debureaucratization. Less of formal procedure and rules
and more accent on results. This also meant support of merit and innovation and
creation of a culture for excellence. This led to the conclusion that individual growth
and promotions must result from good performance and contribution to the
organisation.
The “Priorities for Action” took note of this endemic problem. Where facilities had
been created, they were not fully utilised. To meet market requirements, it was
maintenance planning upkeep of equipment and better use of captive resources such
as the Mines and the Mechanical Shops. Higher capacity utilization was essential not
only to reduce per unit costs but also meet the challenges of a growing market.
Increasing Productivity
and quality, and increasing the returns on capita, material and manpower. Techno-
direction, areas which needed attention were (1) Quality of raw material, most of
which, except coal is from captive sources. Modernization of mines for beneficiation
of ore and better blending were highlighted (2) Adherence to technological discipline
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not only for cost saving in areas of energy utilization and yield but also to prevent
damage to equipment. (3) Process control for quality enhancement. (4) Integration
The focus here was on the urgent need to enhance internal resource generation by
better management. The organisation needed funds for the modernization of its
technology and for this we needed better control over energy and inventory. There
was stress on value engineering for cost control and better implementation of
projects. The document discussed the effect of project overruns on the profitability of
the company and the need to develop cost consciousness as a culture in the
organisation.
The “Priorities for Action” rejected the complacency created by a sellers market and
looked for a greater market orientation in the operations of the company. It spoke of
schedules to enable the customer to plan his own operations. This needed better
product quality and considerable development effort into the stockyards to enable a
The “Priorities for Action” sought to give a direction to the immense energy
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As a first step this document was discussed with key officials and with trade unions.
There was agreement that this was the right direction. Copies of the document were
then printed in English, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and Tamil and distributed to all the
What followed as a next step was one of the largest programmes of management
education ever undertaken in the corporate sector. The “Priorities for Action” was
discussed with the entire top management, about 500, comprising the Corporate
Cadre in the Company. They were organised in groups of 80-85 into two-day
workshops at Ranch. In these workshops, the document was first presented to them
and then each area was discussed in syndicates and come up with concrete action
plants. Six such workshops were held. In each of the workshops, Chairman and
virtually the entire Board of Directors were present to interact with the Officers.
This was an existing opportunity. For many, it was the first time that they had an
opportunity to hold such interactions. For most, it was the first opportunity to meet
their colleagues from other Units and discuss common problems. The enthusiasm ran
high. In all workshops syndicate discussions went on till the early hours of the
morning.
The Corporate Cadre Officers covered in the Ranchi Workshops went back, and from
April, 1986 onwards organised similar workshops in their respective Units to cover
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large groups of employees. Thousands of employees were covered and the message
spread.
The “Priorities for Action” workshops had a tremendous effect in the organisation.
1) The goals of the organisation were clarified and made known to all. It gave a
sense of direction.
2) The crises facing the industry was understood and the need for changes
appreciated.
4) A large number of concrete action plans were drawn up in each priority area. In
each Unit, a committee was appointed to oversee the action plans drawn up and
in the units.
6) They generated a debate in the organisation, and it was here that the basic
The “Priorities for Action” helped to drive home certain essential points :
1) The steel industry urgently needed to modernize its technology to face the
3) This meant that the internal operations of the company must be upgraded to
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4) This level of operations world primarily come from building a productive
corporate culture.
Therefore the current strategy is to tune up the organization and prepare it for playing a
In essence, this is the process in which the company has been engaged over the last few
years. A lot has been done, a lot remain to be done and there are some successes to
Manpower was first curtailed and is now being gradually reduced despite the fact new
assets have got commissioned during the period. Taking into account the manning
requirements for new assets there has been a substantial net saving in manpower since
31.3.85. A new Voluntary Retirement Scheme has been introduced and has attracted
3000 employees in the first nine months of its operation. Rationalization in manpower
has resulted in a greater flexibility of deployment. During 1985-86, over 4000 employees
were redeployed and in 1986-87 another 2700 have been redeployed. This has been
supported by multi-skill, and multi-equipment training. The Alloy Steel Plants enhanced
its capacity by 260 percent and met the entire manning requirement through
redeployment.
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Modernisation of DSP and IISCO is on the anvil. New and sophisticated technologies
are being inducted. These will need to be manned with people having the requisite skills.
At the same time there is manpower control and bulk turnover on account of
superannuating (approximately 50,000 employees will be retiring over the next 8 years).
To coordinate all these activities, a Manpower Planning System has been adopted by the
With al the steps being taken to rationalize the manpower and improve utilisation, the
productivity is expected to increase in future years. In 1986-87 there has been a marginal
reduction in the per tonne employment cost. In future years manpower policies will be
Recruitment
In recruitment, the focus has been to cut down the lead time and improve the quality of
the intake. A number of decisions have been taken to strengthen recruitment and
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improve the quality of Management Trainees. The bond has been removed and the
training period revamped. With these steps the quality of graduates selected in the
Company has improved. The response from Campus has been good.
In the effort to improve the internal efficiency of the Company Training and
Development has a very crucial role to play and the Training and Development
Organisation is being geared to playing this role effectively. The 1986-87 training plan
as fulfillment of the plan has been near total. In the technological upgrdation and
redeployment training, the plans have been linked to the commissioning schedules of new
assets.
A reassessment has been made of the effectiveness of training in the light of the
challenges for the future. A Training and Development Approach Plan has been drawn
up. The Approach Plan basically takes in terms of the needs of the Organisation in terms
of its programmes and policies as well as the Organisation and Structure of Training
The needs of the Organisation where training support is needed are (a) Attributing
changes, (b) Utilisation of manpower, (c) Modernisation and expansion, (d) Efficiency
enhancement and (e) Orientation of new entrants. All this is relevant keeping in view
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the production plans of the Company, the new technologies being inducted and the need
to examine utilisation of existing assets. The Training Plan for 1987-88 has been made
The Organisation of Training is being strengthened to perform the above tasks. There is
a new campus set up at Ranchi which will look after the training and management
development requirements of the Senior Managers in the Company. There already exits
technology training and the training of the Skilled, Supervisory and Middle Management
have received attention. An Executive Director has been appointed to oversee training
activities throughout the Company. Training Advisory Board at the Corporate level,
In 1987-88, we are proposing to cover approximately 13800 Executives and 37000 Non-
executives through various training programmes. Almost 1000 senior executives will be
Managerial Effectiveness. In the training programmes cover the various identified thrust
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Communication
Communication systems, both formal and informal have been strengthened. In many
areas Briefing Groups have been set up to brief employees about major policy issues.
Shift meetings are being encouraged. The accent is on two-way communication. In fact,
in a large and complex Organisation like SAIL the effectiveness of the communication
system has been a singular success. Employees understand the changes, the reasons,
what the Company is trying to do, and on account of this understanding have participated
in the process. In fact, opening up the organisation and a sound communication system
Incentive schemes have been revised to increase their motivational value. Suggestion
schemes are being revamped and three is a move to study specific problems of employees
Organisation
The organisation is being restructured and the number of hierarchical levels reduced.
Earlier, a study was conducted by the Industrial Engg. Departments which showed that
below the GM level, only five levels were required in an operating steel plant as against
the existing eight. Accordingly, we are in the processor reducing the levels. The
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Old Structure New Structure
(Zonal Head)
(Zonal/Departmental Head)
As part of the restructuring, officers are being given specific responsibilities and a clearer
job description.
Organisational Discipline
There have been significant improvements in absenteeism in all Units and in all Major
Departments. Shift changeover delays have been reduced from key departments and time
offices relocated. Grievance and welfare systems have received attention and there are
improvements in all these areas. Bipartite systems have been strengthened and the full
being made. There has been a drastic reduction in overtime. In 1984-85 the company
was paying Rs.44./38 crores as OT, in 1985-86 this came down to Rs. 40,00 crores and in
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1986-87, it has fallen to Rs. 2.49 crores. In Bhilai, IISCO, Salem, R & D; CMO and
The focus has shifted from apparent industrial peace at the cost of productivity (through
been possible on account of the involvement of people at all levels. An effective change
strategy consistently adopted by the Company in all its programmes has been to talk to
people, obtain their participations and their move ahead, SAIL has a strong bipartite base
and an extensive network of bipartite forums. This has helped in the management of
employee relations.
In this process, the officers too have fully participated and led through example. At a
time when the Government was moving towards a five-days week, the officers accepted
increase in their work day in the interest of parity with factory employees. When the
entire public sector had paid the ad-hoc salary increase the officers strengthened the
participation and support ahs been the result of faith, good communication and an
Appraisal System
One of the first HRD initiatives in the Company was the amendment of the Appraisal
System for Executives. Initially, the exercise began as a move to amend the promotion
policy to make it totally performance oriented. Gradually, it was realised that the
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Promotion Policy would not be so changed without having an adequate/acceptable
instrument for measurement of performance. This was an important step in the attempt to
improve the work culture by convincing employees that their career growth was linked
So the Company reviewed its appraisal system and found that it needed drastic
amendments.
levels of performance. Analysis showed that rating were skewed 68% of the
executives were being assessed in the top two ranks and no one in the bottom
company. It did not reflect the Value System of the Organisation. In fact an
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3) Officers were not participating fully in the System. Basically Officers did not
see any value, because they did not see the output of the System being linked
The employees too had their own views. A survey conducted on the appraisal system
1) Jr. Officers felt than there no focus on what was expected from them. They did
not know the areas in which were expected to contribute so that their assessment
could improve.
2) They felt that the system was not participative enough. They did not have a
3) There were three assessment levels- Reporting Officer, Reviewing Officer and
Higher Authority. Since each level could countermand the previous one, the
Reporting Officer as the immediate supervisor felt that they had little role to play.
initial, draft was prepared and thrown open for discussions. Discussion were held at
various levels with the Heads of Personnel, the Steel Executive federation of India,
the Chief Executives and in groups of executives. At each level there were
review. In addition to the structured responses, in-depth interview were held with a
crore-section of officers,
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On the basis of all their feedback and the discussion, the system was finally
implemented for the year 1986-87. The salient features of the systems are discussed
below :
Objective
the officers.
It will be seen that the focus of the Appraisal System is sought to be changed. An
This is the aspect which creates most problems. Employees don’t accept the
and weaknesses, training and development, job rotation and enrichment and
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performance planning and review. These aspects invariably get overshadowed by
In SAIL, the Appraisal System is an instrument for improving the work culture. The
focus is on the development aspects and the Company is utilising the appraisal system
as an instrument for :
2) Starting a healthy and problem solving dialogue between the Reporting Officer
targets/tasks for the appraise in the beginning of the year. In the middle of the year,
the appraise fills in the self-appraisal form, indicating the extent to which the
targets/tasks have been completed, the difficulties faced and the suggestions for
improvement. At the end of the year there is the annual review and targets/tasks set
for the next year. Both in the mid year review and the annual review, the self
performance review discussion the problems are discussed and the appraise given
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This aspect of the appraisal system came in for considerable discussion. Many
officers tended to feel that in steel industry, particularly at the junior level the focus is
difficult. It was also pointed out that there were many “Soft areas” in which target
setting would be difficult. The Company fully accepted the objections and decided
that initially target setting would be done only for Superintendent and above who
Company would investigate the feasibility of target setting before taking a decision.
The feasibility of target setting was studied with the help of a Consultant. Exercises
were held in all the unit where a cross-section of junior officers were exposed to
target setting experiments. The result showed that whereas theoretically, target
setting should be possible for each and every position, there were difficulties
most of these difficulties were arising from a lack of appreciation of how it could be
done. There are apprehensions too. Apprehensions about what will happen if targets
were not met because of genuine difficulties. What if the boss gave very difficult
jobs which were impossible. How to account for odd jobs which are done during the
course of the year. What weightage will be given for jobs which are urgent and those
which are important. Would all be able to participate in target setting or would it be
unilateral. All these questions were discussed and logical answers found. But you
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Target setting helped many Departmental Heads to rediscover their jobs. They found
that they were expected to contribute not only in production and more production, but
also in areas such as safety, quality, cost, training and development of human
resources. These were also key areas where a contribution was expected.
There are many more apprehensions about the performance review discussions.
Basically, people are shy of coming together to discuss performance. What if he does
not agree with me> What if he refuse to sign the form ? In fact there were more
apprehensions from among seniors, where, in fact, junior officers were in some cases
eager to participate.
The second part of the system was the reporting of performance. The reporting is
done on the basis of 14 assessment factors. Each factors has been weighted to
E-1-E-4 E-5-E-8
1) Quality of output 5 4
2) Quantity of output 5 4
3) Cost control 5 4
20 15
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B) Managerial Ability Factors Weightage
E-1-E-4 E-5-E-6
2) Initiative 1 1
3) Team spirit 1 -
responsibility 1 1
5) Communication 1 2
9) Lateral coordination 1 3
10) Discipline 1 1
Total (A + B) 30 30
The Finalisation of the assessment factors was a time consuming affair. In a large multi-
functional organisation to short list factors applicable to a large body of 18,000 officers
and at the same time relevant for the company was a difficult job. There is of course no
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scientific method for doing this. The 14 factors and their respective weightage represent
Resources” was given importance particularly since this was a problem area and the
management wished to define to the officer that contribution in this area would be
welcome and would improve his assessment. Similarly, in a large continuous process
The third part consists of the development plan. Here an opinion is taken about the
development needs of the appraise, the training necessary and the job rotation required.
The fourth part of the system consists of the final evaluation. On the basis of Part II, the
Officers are divided into a number of groups. Officers in each group are evaluated
relative to each other by the Performance Review Committee and distributed into various
Outstanding 5%
Average 25%
Unsatisfactory 5%
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The Appraisal System was unique in the steel industry and so was the implementation
strategy. The system was totally indigenously designed through a process of extensive
As a first step, the new system was presented to groups of officers in each Unit and the
details explained. In the second step, 70 Internal Resource Persons were identified.
These Internal Resource Persons were put through two” training for trainers”
7000 officers in the essential aspects of the system. In each Unit an Implementation Task
Force was appointed to review the implementation of the system and provide guidance.
At the Corporate level, an Inter-Plant Steering Committee was set up to oversee the
process. The implementation strategy was designed keeping in view the following :
2) The need to explain the various aspects of the system particularly target
setting and performance review discussions, and convince officers of the need
and rationale.
The new appraisal system has not been in operation for two years. Last year, some
minor modifications were made on the basis of the feedback received. These two
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2) Officers are actively participating in the system since they are now aware of its
discussion have not been fully implemented and needs much grater training effort.
4) The system throws up an immense amount of data abut the problems faced by
In the light of the imitative being taken by the Company, there is a qualitative change in
the expectation from the Human Resource Group. Not only are they expected to improve
their own contribution in the existing areas, but also to come forward and function as
catalysts of change in building team work, motivation and productive work culture. So
within the Department itself, there was need to clarity issues and ensure that everyone
was on the same wave length in terms of the expectations from the Company. There are
over 800 Officers in the Personnel and Training Departments in the various Plants/Units.
It was from this Group that the Company expected a leadership role in better man
management. All these officers were collected in eight one day workshops at Ranchi
where the “Perspectives for Human Resource Management” in SAIL were discussed.
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For convenience, the group felt that the contribution expected from them could be
In each of these areas key result areas have been highlighted and, in the Units,
itself was reviewed. It was agreed that the organization needed strengthening in
areas. Based on these discussions, a revised organizational structure for the Human
1) Strengthening of the shop floor Personnel Officers since it is here that the
2) Bifurcation of the day to day activities from the Planning and Development areas.
The HRD workshops have had a good effect. In some Units feedback has been taken
from line Managers who have appreciated the qualitatively changed role which the
Department is playing.
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Qualitative Changes
Over the past few years the Company has implemented number of initiatives in the
area of HRD. The “Priorities of Action” and the Appraisal System are two successful
example. There have been many more which have been briefly mentioned. Today,
the Company is still in the middle of the process of change. However, in such a large
company, changes have not been uniform in all sectors. Each unit has its own
specific culture and response pattern. The effort has been to retain the valuable
components of the local culture and build upon it the realization that this is one
company. Over the past few years there ahs been encouraging qualitative changes in
There is a good ground swell developing and some ground for confidence about the
future.
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3.4 HRD AT C-DOT
Introduction
C-DOT was conceived at a time when India was planning for 21st Century. Management
at C)Dot was aimed towards setting a trend in India for R & D management with focus
towards mission oriented projects and creation of a unique work environment, C-DOT
has been more of a Human Resource Management challenge than a technical challenge,
HRD at C-DOT, therefore, had to act as catalytic agents towards greater synergetic effect
so that staff members(we prefer to call ourselves “staff members” of C-DOT family) with
individual brilliance and limitations could be brought together to complement each other
and culture conductive to achievement of excellence. The main emphasis of the Human
Resource Management philosophy is on developing the organisation, its people and their
priorities.
• Commitment to the mission – sense of purpose and direction; setting of targets and
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• Commitment to the staff members - liberal, positive and people sensitive personnel
Besides a good technical team, the time bound project at C-DOT, to delivery a family of
required administrative procedures and programmes to mobilize and motivate your talent.
It requires considerable planning to induct a large group of young Engineers (around 300
– average age 26 years) in a very short span of time (less than 1 year). To begin with,
new personnel policies were formulated, jobs were advertised for and interviews
conducted. Based on an objective selection criteria, key candidates were selected for
challenging assignments. Once they were taken at C-DOT, the HRD group was
responsible for their orientation, training facilities, work environment and well being .
Simultaneously, new policies were to be formulated and introduced in almost all areas.
Needless to say that the work load during this time bound programme was such that staff
creativity, innovation and initiative. Some of these areas – people sensitivity, time and
delegation and monitoring are outlined in the following sections. It is hoped that an
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overview of the guidelines will provide further understanding of C-DOT work culture
and environment that it was created to develop indigenous high technology base.
People Sensitivity
• Emphasis on welfare of members of staff and members of their families both at work
and at home.
• Highly subsidized transport facility including after office hours and on holidays
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• In-house counselling services
environment.
openness. Effective use of floor area utilising much less space per head compared to
normal standards
• Committees from among members of staff for cultural, sports, literary activities
members of staff
staff
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• PERTs for each major and minor activity
- Project level
- Inter/intra-function level
- Inter/Intra-group level
infrastructure
Flexibility in Procedures
• Forms and proformas – simplified and limited – same form for multiple applications
• All staff payments credited to individuals Bank accounts. Bank counters in office.
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• Need based air travel irrespective of job titles or levels.
• House keeping, travel and transport, maintenance, canteen services etc. on contract
basis.
Effective Communication
- Suggestion box, newsletter, house journal, news bulletin, circulars, notice board,
internal directory, external directory, press clippings, health surveys and periodic
• Informal Communication
information.
Office Automation
vital functions.
Dictaphones in use
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• Computerised Library Functions – issue, return, cataloguing, location, status and
information retrieval.
It is an easier task to create a new work environment for a new organisation like C-DOT.
But the most difficult challenge is to sustain the culture and motivation level when the
organisation grows beyond its informal span of control. The role of HRD is perceived as
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most critical in such circumstances. Introspection and review form the major instrument
to formulate future plan and course of action where the existing work environment and
culture still remains as the main driving force. This is done with all staff members
To study, review and suggest modification of existing policy/new policy formulation the
Working Groups
Secretarial & Support Staff were formed to deliberate on the effectiveness of the different
systems at C-DOT.
• Project Monitoring
• HRD
• Staff Compensation
• Facilities
• Communication
The representatives discussed the above issues at length with the staff members and
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Group were debated upon by the top management and accordingly the policies were
renewed.
While the working group on HRD define the major concept, philosophies and activities
of HRD at C-DOT , the most important role for HRD effectiveness is played by the
Implementers
Groups leaders of different functional groups are the key people in implementing any
HRD policy, As per the C-DOT philosophy of HRD, the group leader is the immediate
Manager who monitors the activities and is responsible for the well being of the staff
members in this group. They identify the development input requirement and
recommend job rotation/new exposure in respect of the staff members. Group leaders can
also sponsor members of the group for external training programmes/ conferences within
The HRD Group is the nerve centre that develops policies and carries out actives related
to :
• Development Inputs
• Performance Appraisal
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• Career Development
• Personnel Research
• Welfare
It prepares the HRD plan on an annual basis on the recommendations of the working
Developing Inputs
information to all staff members. So it starts from the very beginning. The staff
members on joining C-DOT undergoes an induction training and orientation about the job
and the individuals with whom he/she will be interacting. The orientation breaks in the
staff member to the unique norms and culture of C-DOT. The orientation is followed by
an exhaustive two-week technical training programme for the technical staff. Beyond the
formal induction training again the Group Leaders take care of complete induction to C-
Every Friday a weekly training/presentation is organised for the staff members are also
development inputs be given to staff to ensure that the cohesive team can achieve results.
Staff members are also sent on external technical programmes to update their knowledge
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on the state-of-the-art in the field of electronics telecom and management. Some unique
in-house training programmes like PC training for spouse and children are also organised.
Staff members are given the opportunity to go on foreign deputation to get an exposure in
advanced technologies and new areas of interest. Also as part of the development input
Performance Appraisal
of performance on a continuous basis which can be openly shared with the concerned
• Assessment of Performance
• Assignment Review
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• Determining organisation structure
The scheme is part of the overall Project Review System that periodically reviews
Before finalisation of C-DOT Annual Business Plan, all Group Leaders have discussion
with various group members about the role of the group, assignments to be completed
during the next year and major milestones with completion dates. Each staff member is
given assignments which form the basis of the Annual Business Plan. Before the start
of the appraisal period the responsibilities are clearly assigned along with the time frame.
On a weekly basis, the assignments are reviewed and recorded in the weekly review
sheets. Periodic review and timely feedback are the key issues in the appraisal scheme.
At the end of the six months the staff member completes the self appraisal form
affecting performance . Parallel, the immediate appraiser completes the appraisal form
filling the strengths and weaknesses and tentative rating on the ten attributes defined.
Next the immediate appraiser calls the staff member for mutual discussion. This
discussion has to be guided towards a feedback and counselling session. After this the
form is sent to the second level appraiser for his rating. The second level appraiser can
add any broader dimension to the overall appraisal through comparison across the smaller
groups or by eliminating any perceived bias. If this rating differs from first level rating
then the reason for the different of opinion should be documented and the changed rating
communicated to the staff member. Then it is sent to HRD for the processing. At each
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level the staff members are consulted and kept informed to try and ensure fair need and
elimination of bias.
Career Development
career planning programme. It is essential to create a basic structure and process for
the career development plan is that growth opportunities are to be given to all staff
on Career Development, firstly a Career Plant survey covering all levels was conducted.
The survey covered issues like avenues for growth and career path at C-Dot in specific
The promotion policy outlines the growth prospectus of staff members of various
categories and the minimum period to be sent in the scale and eligibility points required.
Career paths and growth opportunities are totally linked with the performance appraisal.
High potential employees are identified early in their careers and placed in an accelerated
development programme. Since the organisation has a flat structure, options in terms of
levels are not many and hence other alternative avenues for growth are given importance
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Group Leaders Technical Expert
Engineers
inter/intra-group is lasso available. Job rotation to other groups to gain new exposure and
insight in areas of interest is also encouraged. However, the perceived ability of the
New projects that C-Dot is getting involved in, are opening up opportunities of staff
members to new areas of learning and experience. Also C-Dot encourages its staff
members to proceed on full time study levee, work for C-Dot licensees and other
with C-DOT having option to join back at their discretion. Career development, thus at
Personnel Research
Audit and Research form important instruments for closer feel of what is happening
around and what needs to be done. Opinion surveys, attitude surveys, case studies and
task force deliberations present very useful data for analysis and basis for management
decision. A number of such surveys have been conducted and actions taken thereof, but
lot more needs to be done on this HRD activity at C-DOT. We would like to prepare
cases for industry and academic institutes on specific areas like project monitoring,
C-DOT which could help the experts to conceptualise and model on C-DOT’s experience
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Welfare
To promote the feeling of oneness and togetherness in the C-DOT family, the welfare
sports tournaments, picnics and cultural events etc. are organised for staff members and
their families.
Also to encourage the spirit of adventure in staff members, events, like trekking, outings
Relaxation” or “Holiday Home” facility are encouraged. Every year on Annual Day (the
day C-DOT was formed) is celebrated with the while C-DOT family (from Delhi and
Bangalore) joining together to commemorate the day with a lot of enthusiasm and vigour.
All these functions reinforce the HRD commitment to promoting participation and team
work.
Conclusion
All this basically highlighted the important role of the work environment and HRD
System in organisational work and effectiveness. It was recognised that a time bound,
mission oriented organisation will require new work environment, new work culture, new
tools, new training and new management methods. However, the key to the
implementation lays in our ability to mobilize and motivate dedicated young engineers
and other staff members with fresh outlook and ambition necessary for playing the most
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3.5 HRD FOR WORKMEN AT EICHER MOTORS – AN
Eicher Goodearth Limited was formed on 3rd Sept., 1960 with a small capital investment
of Rs. 19 lacs and rolled out its first tractor at Faridabad in the same year. This was the
first tractor to be manufactured in India. Today Eicher is a multi unit group employing
more than 3,400 people and having 5 plants situated at Alwar, Faridabad, Parwanoo and
Pithampur across 4 states. The latest addition to the group is Eicher Motors Limited
(EML) which has its manufacturing base at Pithampur near Indore where Light
with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), the largest commercial vehicle manufacture
of Japan.
Eicher Motors Limited is a Public Limited company with a total envisaged project of Rs.
41.5 crores (present outlay of over Rs. 16 crores) and licensed to manufacture 12,000
vehicles per annum. The plant commenced operations in June 1986. Ever since, the
employee strength has grown from 185 to 480 till date and at present it is geared to
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Background to HRD for Workmen at Eicher
Out philosophy has always been to continuously and openly examine issues related to our
Human Resources. This has resulted in generally harmonious Industrial Relations which
1) Fair and firm approach to all human related issued without compromising on
basic principles or the long term interest of the company. This meant being
Given these basic principles, let us now take a look at some of the lessons learnt by us
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Learning from Tractor Operations
Our tractor operations witnessed phenomenal growth during the period 1974-81.
From an annual turnover of Rs. 3 crores, volumes increased to Rs. 80 crores and we
became a leader in the Industry. Two new plants were set up and employee strength
increased from 400 to 3000. There are a feeling of well being and morale was at its
peak.
All of a sudden, in 1982, we got a rude shock. Due to credit squeeze announced by
RBI, tractor financing was abruptly reduced. The market crashed from 81000 tractors
in 1981 to 63000 tractors! At a time when we were gearing up for providing 2500
tractors per month (from 1250 per month), we were forced to cut production. For the
first time in a decade, we experienced negative growth and a marginal loss in 1982-
83. The market continued to remain sluggish for the next few years and in spite of
RBI relaxing its norms, the recessionary trends could not be reversed.
The events of 1982-84 naturally had negative impact on employees. The high morale
of 1981 was replaced by a feeling of anxiety. In order to take stock of the situation, a
detailed diagnostic exercise was conducted (using an attitude “survey and workshop”
a) Due to the increasing demand of tractors in the market- place during the
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b) In order to support this growth the tractor operations had various incentive
market boom. During this period the workers had upgraded their skills
and learnt their job well enough to complete their daily targets in 5 to 5 ½
level leaving not enough motivation for them to put in more efforts.
rework etc. and therefore the inspection function had become critical with
quality.
e) The oldest and the biggest of the tractor units was located in a small 8-acre
plot at Faridabad and with the increased number demanded by the market
there was mushroom growth of facilities in the plant resulting into sub-
environment was not all that conducive to support the management efforts
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workmen, it was necessary to put its own house in order by providing
These lessons were a great help in reviewing and providing direction to the
EML Objectives
It was our aim that our new plant should be a model one which cold give
• Productivity,
• Quality,
• Discipline, and
• Development of people
In order to achieve these, an indepth analysis was done and it was decided to
focus on the following factors (not mentioned in the order or merit) which
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c) Commitment to excellence in work.
the workforce.
planned manner.
A New Dimension
At the time of setting these objective it was felt that in a new plant,
However, the situation dramatically changed when the tractor operations were
rationalized and surplus manpower was made available which had to be accommodated.
The LCV operations at Pithampur offered an excellent opportunity to absorb this surplus.
The task became more challenging when about 60 workers were actually transferred and
To the above objectives were added another objective to “Absorb and integrate the
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This was a very major challenge because the workers were accustomed to working in an
environment where production volumes and higher productivity were linked to incentive
earnings. The LCV operations did not have any incentive scheme and yet the
productivity targets were comparatively much higher and hence the challenge.
HRD Interventions
In order to achieve the results defined above, EML has used a combination of various
HRD techniques and some of the Japanese concepts in the production systems.
We would here like to share our experience in using these tools. The attempt below is to
share the techniques and concepts used without evaluating their contribution individually
Training
The technique of training has been a key factor and a major tool used to achieve the
objective of HRD. Right from the day of project planning, our collaborators had
emphasize on format training for all personnel involved in the operations of the plant.
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Therefore even before commencing the manufacturing operations a training school was
set with comprehensive facilities to trading all categories of personnel including dealers,
Given below are some of the efforts made towards training of personnel :
a) Japanese Exposure
As already stated EMPL is a company set up in technical and financial collaboration with
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation of Japan. The agreement between the two companies
The Company decided to send a team of shop floor executives to be trained in production
The purpose of sending only executive level personnel was to provide an indepth
exposure to Japanese methods so that they could design their training and production
Based on the feedback from our trainees (which included the head of manufacturing and
Q. C. functions) we took stock of the lessons learnt and the direction that we needed to
take in building a new work culture. We clearly understood that there was nothing
U.S. Europe or our own country) adopts certain sound principles and value which give it
strength. We found fair amount of similarity in Japanese practices and our own symbols
of the 28year old employee relations culture in tractor operations e.g. common canteen,
annual day (all employees participate in sports and dine together), open door policy etc.
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and yet there were quite a few differences e.g. cobinless offices and group exercises in
Japan. We therefore realised that we could adopt only those practices that suited our
conditions and refrain from blindly copying our collaborators. T the same time, effective
techniques such as “Kaizen”, “Kanban” etc. (mentioned elsewhere in this paper) could
easily be adopted and used in our conditions and hence we decided to implement these.
b) Induction Training
Every employee who joined EMP shopfloor had to undergo an induction programme for
a duration of 3 weeks.
This training was extremely necessary because at EML line production concept is
practiced wherein various lines are interconnected with each other. One line feed another
line which in turn feeds a subsequent line. Moreover, since there ions plant inventory
maintained between various lines, therefore, the feeding line has to feed the materials to
the subsequent line in the required quantity and quality and on time.
This is nothing but a `customer concept’ between the lines and each line takes pride in
doing its job to the best of its ability. The feeding liens ensure that the customer is fully
satisfied in terms of delivery schedule, quanity and quality. This provides motivation to
the employees an problems of any nature in the change get highlighted immediately –
“DO IT RIGHT FIRST TIME”. The underlying meaning is that each job should be
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completed with perfection at the first attempt itself thus eliminating wastages like rework,
rejections, inspection cost, etc. To do things” right first time”, it is essential that proper
training is given to every person before he is put on to a job. In line with this thinking.
EML has given top priority to training right from inception of the plant.
In the initial stages in 1986 before the commencement of operations, our executives
designed a detailed induction training package and trained their supervisors who in turn
2) Product familiarization.
line balancing.
the product.
Till date induction training is of prime importance and no employee is posted to his
workplace without this training. It has proven very useful in achieving discipline,
understanding and appreciating the importance of quality and team spirit amongst
executives, supervisors and workers (since they were all learning together).
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C) Developing Training
The organisation believes that workers can be developed to realize their full
This job is taken very seriously and forms a part of the KRA for the supervisor and
the line executives. Major production and quality systems are oriented towards
developing the individual as a whole and thus providing him an opportunity to use all
his skills and faculties on the job. Efforts in this direction have been discussed below.
At EMP it is believed that every person knows his job best and total responsibility of
doing a job perfectly lies with the individual himself. Reflection of this belief is clear
in the concept of `self check’. This means the workers who does a particular job
regularly is capable of checking the quality of his work and should also be
responsible for it. Time is made available to the worker for doing this because
indirectly on the product, contributes in his own small or big way towards making a
quality product. Total quality of the product will be high only when the quality of all
expecting quality is next to impossible. Bearing this in mind a lot of emphasis is paid
etc., the line personnel are supported by the training cell which continuously
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organises talks, sessions and programmes meant to give exposure to the workers in
With the passage of time, the workers began get adapt in their function and a need
was felt to remove the monotony and therefore plans were made to retrain these
workers in other functions and lines. This versatility training on one hand helped in
removing monotony and on the other hand, in having available a much more flexible
and versatile work force. The responsibility for this was taken by the concerned line
This training is the direct responsibility of the line supervisor and executives.
Participation
essential to involve workers in activities which will provide them opportunities to use
and polish all their skills, knowledge, imagination and intelligence in translating his
ideas into reality. EML systems provide them an uninhibited environment where he
individual talent can blossom. This has brought about a sense of pride, achievement
company objectives like productivity, quality etc., and individuals’ aspirations of self-
implemented at EML.
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a) Productivity Improvement
At EML all preparations in terms of establishing production lines are done with close
drawn up and improved by workers in consultation with supervisors. The work study
time standards are `laid down by total participation of workers through a unique
system called Funds Analysis”. In this process workers write down exactly what they
activity. Subsequently, the Fundosi is analysed to cut down the unnecessary activities
production lines resulting in improved productivity and high workforce morale as the
b) Quality Improvement
meetings are organised where line supervisors, workers & QC inspectors all sit down
together to discuss quality related problems and their possible solutions. The
solutions are found and action plans are worked out for implementation by workers
themselves. This collective approach to quality gives excellent help in reviewing the
On similar lines meeting are held to discuss matters relating to safety, house keeping
etc.
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c) Kaizen
This concept has been borrowed from the Japanese, and implemented at EML
because it believes in the theory that all workers have creative potential which can be
tapped and also this would satisfy the creative instinct of the workers. In other
words it means that the workers job should give them scope to use all their
Muri, Mura and Muda are the biggest enemies on any productions shopfloor and they
keep appearing in the day to day routine in various forms and disguises.
Muri means overstrain which can come from physical or mental strain.
work content, time, types, production volume or quality, in behavior or discipline etc.
Muda means waste of any kind in terms of material, time money, effort etc.
The above three bugs, if present, contribute to inefficiency and increased costs of
Members of Kaizen group, while working on any line, are on a constant look out for
MURI, MURA & MUDA. Once any problem is identified, Kaizen meeting of the
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concerned line is organised at the end of the day’s work. In this forum, the problem
is analysed, opinions of all group members are sought and discussed, a solution for
the problem is evolved through consensus and action plan for implementation is
drawn up. Thereafter the Kaizen group takes necessary action to implement the
solution.
The Company believes that its employees, irrespective of staff or workmen must be
rewarded only on the basis of merit. To ensure this, the Company followed an annual
appraisal system for all its employees. The appraisal system is designed to encourage
staff and workers to achieve outstanding results and higher targets. The basic
to the individuals.
b) Potential review – in order to discuss with the individual the ways and
means through which he could realise his full potential and continue to
grow in the organisation. This also provides data for manpower planning.
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Performance Rating
The exercise begins with the setting up of departmental performance targets for a period
of six months. Primarily these targets are set after mutual discussions between a
departmental head and the sectional head. The sentinel head further dices these targets
with his team of staff and workers and finally action plans are chalked out detailing the
Based on achievement against the target each individual’s job performance is review
Once in a year the immediate superior (i.e., the first line supervisor) fills up the formal
appraisal form and hands it over to this superior. This appraisal is reviewed by a group
consisting of line executive, the industrial relations executive and the line manager with
The following parameters form the yardsticks for reviewing worker performance:
i) Productivity
ii) Quality
iii) Skill
iv) Versatility
v) Rejection control
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vi) Attendance
scored against factor. The overall rating is also on a five-point scale and the
Potential Rating
following parameters :
a) Job knowledge
b) Discipline
c) Behaviour
d) Attitude
e) Leadership
The above parameters are admittedly less objective than the performance
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This group spends a considerable amount of time in discussing the
by the line supervisor to his workmen while the feedback on potential and
a feedback session where the worker is helped to devise his own action plan.
Based on the above discussions, the worker and the supervisor identify areas
for development and a plan of action is drawn up and discussed with the
Communication
resultant actions.
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3) To discuss/involve in setting of and achieving department targets/issues
issues.
Daily Meeting
Before the start of the day’s work and during tea breaks, the members in sections get
together for a `morning meeting’. The duration of the meeting is generally between five
to ten minutes. The supervisor first addresses the group, He then discusses the day’s
tasks and job distribution and makes nothings, if any, of the resources required for the
completion of the above task. Also within the purview of the supervisor’s address are
design changes and any company policy related matter that need to be shared with
workmen. After the supervisor’s address, a senior workmen addresses the group. He
informs the group of any quality related problems of the previous day’s output and
counter measures for avoiding the same. The workers in the group (during these
During these meetings the workers are also allowed to raise any group grievances, or do
These meetings ensure total involvement and commitment to the day’s tasks whether they
be related to quality, productivity or improvement. Once the plans are finalised by the
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“Kanban”
visual control. Many improvements in day to day working on the line can be done by this
simple technique called “Kanban” which in plain terms means `display’. Display of
information etc., in the line is done through sign boards, charts, graphs etc/
Role of Union
The organisation firmly believes in the concept of `Collective Bargaining’ and has
measures are discussed with the workers union before they are implemented.
The organisation believes that the union is able to represent the feelings, aspirations of
the workforce which is helping the management in arriving at suitable decisions and
hence the above issues are discussed with the union representatives in regular Monthly
These meetings are also extensively used to share information on company performance
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The role of the union has been discussed with the workers representatives and defined as
under :
quality, discipline.
Collective Bargaining
We have already had one compensation review in consultation with the union. This was
We have implemented and arrived at a compensation policy for our workers which would
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c) To be able to appreciate the financial healed of the
continuous basis.
Further, our approach has been to pay our workers well and to be
policies and practices in the whole group. The latest survey has
1) Leadership
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2) Job security
3) Grievance handling
4) Promoting policy
5) Relationship
6) Communication
7) Participation
8) Discipline
9) Welfare
10) Recognition
12) Fairness
13) Development
14) Compensation
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Collection of Data
drawn using random tables and the following was the sample size :
c) Workers – 50%
The data was consolidated and discussed at a 2 tier workshop. The first tier consisted of
IR executives form all locations, Line Managers (the Deputy Managers and above
handling IR) and Personnel Managers. The second tier consisted of Production
This survey data along with the IR history (since the last workshop in January 1987),
SWOT analysis of units, formed the database for discussions at the workshop.
The its tier review the data and made recommendations for consideration in the 2nd tier
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Detailing out the IR workshop findings and recommendations is not in the purview of this
presentation and it would suffice to say that in comparison to the satisfaction level in the
AT the time of writing this paper detailed action plans based on the findings of the
Though a lot of effort ahs been made and some targets achieved there is no room for
complacency in the field of HRD. This realization is strong amongst the management
team of EML and we fee that we need to work even harder. To our mind the future
1) The workers have apparently accepted the appraisal and reward system based
on merit but our attitude survey has reveled that there is still scope for
The perception gaps between workers and executives on this matter need to be
bridged.
2) The promotion policy, though tentatively formulated has not been tested out
thoroughly yet (the plant being only 2 ½ years old). Therefore, it needs to be
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3) To develop mature trade union leadership, we need to organise special
4) Absorb and integrate the transferred employees into the new work culture.
This to our mind is an ongoing exercise as newer and newer workers get
employees has been highly successful and most of them have performed
extremely well under the new working conditions. In fact the same workers
who for years were working less than 6 hours a day are willingly (without
(Here one could cite the example of Calcutta Metro where the citizens of Calcutta
have proved that given the right environment, people would respond with
responsibility).
subordinates.
7) To sustain the work culture and the high standards that we have set for
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3.6 POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH IN-BASKET
SUSAN VARUGHESE
Identifying its mission as Electrical Energy, Crompton Greaves has been in the business
of transmission and distribution of power for the last 5 decades. Since 1984 this mission
has been redefined to include Electronics. The Company has decentralsied set up with 5
major groups of profit centres, with 14 profit centres and several new projects in
operations re in Bombay, Nasik and Ahmednagar. Company’s turnover for the year
ended 30th June 1987 is Rs. 280 crores. It has a manpower strength of 8,800 persons. Its
major products include Transformers and Reactors upto 400 KV, Switchgear, Motor
Control Gear, Electric Motors upto 6,00 KW, Fans, Lamps and Luminaries, Colour and
HRD System
Introduction of the formal HRD System in the Company began in the year 1983 with the
assistance of Dr. Udai Pareek and Dr. TV Rao of the Indian Institute of management,
Ahmedabad. The thrust was initiated by create of a formal Taskforce, headed by the then
Executive Vice President and today’s Managing Director. The Taskforce, in its inaugural
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Role Analysis
Role Analysis was identified as an intervention for purposes of role clarity and
performance appraisal. Using the Role Analysis technique with the role set of boss,
subordinate, peer and role incumbent, a beginning was made with the Divisional and
Regional General Manager roles and that of their teams on a specimen basis. These roles
were discussed by role incumbents and their bosses and finalised by HRD Taskforce.
Thereafter, the MD met each of the functional groups by a day each to complete the
Effort is now on to extent this further to the next level i.e., the Executive Cadre. Their
roles are in the process of finalisation. Our analysis so far has covered 500 Executive.
Efforts are also under way to analyse the Junior Officer Roles covering a population of
primary objective with no linkages to goals or review and feedback. With the intention
constituted for an internal survey. Based on the recommendations for the Internal Sub-
The System begins with goal-setting between the boss and subordinates, at the start of the
year, against the Key Performance Areas evolved through sale analysis, self appraisal at
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the end of appraisal term, performance analysis in terms of factors which have helped or
hindered performance, and appraisal interview with the boss followed by counselling.
The dimension included for assessment are performance against agreed objectives,
leadership and tem balding at Departmental Head levels, contribution to team spirit at all
levels, risk taking and creative contribution or risk taking and ventures. Critical
In preparation for the development oriented system, Counselling programmes are behind
held to impart skills for counselling. The new performance Appraisal System has been
introduced at the level of the Departmental Heads and is being reviewed this year for
IN-Basket
Top Management selections and appointments have a matter of concern with us. Our
decisions are based largely on Performance Appraisal. Our MD wondered if there are
Resources, felt the present system put too high an emphasis on performance appraisal.
We tried to collect the potential assessment in addition to performance appraisal but they
performance building in the organisation was also concerned about the quality of people
who were to manage the profit centres and regions. He suggested that we develop
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of concerned position as shown on a set of potential mail related to that position. We
decided to experiment with one such exercise. The level we identified was General
Methodology
We used the critical incidental technique to elicit the basic data. Five of our General
Managers and three Vice-Presidents were included in the exercise. The data we asked fro
were 5 situations where the criticality of their decision resulted in a favourable situations
Mangers in action. We also collected some of their typical memos to capture the tone
and spirit of the Office of a GM in our organisation. I found this process exciting and a
journey into the world of General Manger/Chief Executive. It afforded a very big
learning opportunity to come to terms with what this position entails. Happily, my
The situations which I collected referred to instances where a GM intervention was called
for either because implications of a decision went beyond one functional ramification,
represented a dilemma where a GM intervention was vital. The task now was to convert
perspective, I had to present a DH anxiety, a peer level enquiry or a boss equity. The
Scenario had to be constructed. I decided that this exercise had to retain the character
and culture of our Company largely, though named Hindustan Engineering. Therefore, I
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decided to centre the action in one profit, centre, representing both our consumer and
industry business. The book, `Dynamic Management Education’ by Allen Zoll proved
After a preliminary draft of the exercise I began to seriously evaluate the content of the
memos vis-à-vis the total responsibilities of a General Manager. The analysed role of
General Manager, Critical Attributes identified for the role proved helpful in identifying
organisation. I identified certain unresolved issues at Corporate and Divisional levels and
presented them in the exercise. There had to be a fair mix of day to day operating issues
Finally, the issues that were considered by top management as issues of concern at this
stage of our organistional life were issues on quality, customer service, new product
of our concerns was if the decisions were known would it work to the advantage of those
who knew vis-à-vis others. This we resolved at the design stage by saying there cold be
more than one right decision. Contexts and perspectives would have also changed. At
the validation we were proved right. It was exciting to just let one’s imagination run
wild even for my colleagues, to create a position, consider new applications of our
products, kill some products, promote other and extend the Company. The excitement
was in creating a Company that had vitality and credibility. Hindustan Engineering came
to stay in our minds as a real entire though a surrogate of Crompton Greaves Limited.
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To give you an idea of a situation here is an example. The instructions to the exercise
read as follows :
Your Situation
Assume you are Natwar Singh, General Manager of Machine Division of a large multi-
in the transmission and distribution of power. Your company has now made an entry into
Electronics. Your division manufactures products which have domestic and industrial
applications. Your products are marketed through a common regional sales set-up for the
organisation chart is attached for details of people who interact with you in this exercise.
You have been with a delegation from abroad, who are your collaborators on your new
The Constraint
Today is 11th September. It is 11.00 a.m. now. You will be leaving for Ahmedabad in
two hours, to attend a week; programme on Strategic Planning. 12th to 19th September,
1986, organised by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. You will return on
Friday next, eight days from today. Your secretary had placed your mail folder on your
desk. You are to run through the entire folder and write out whatever appropriate action
you make like to take on each of these issues. Each of these is a decision exercise
obtained from actual situations encountered in organisations. These are issues over
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Remember you are expected to assume the role of a General Manager. You are going to
be assessed on the quality of the decision you have taken. You are free to generate more
Any action you take must be in writing. You cannot phone or speak to anybody. You
make like to write memos to yourself for action after your return. Also make an agenda
of meetings you will call if necessary. Remember that you cannot carry any of the
MACHINE DIVISION
As you are aware, working on possible application of our technology for more consumer
products, my team has been excitably pursuing development of hair dryer which we feel
is superior to other brands in the market. I am happy to inform you now that our
prototype is ready. However, I am faced with two issues of concern. Our preliminary
costing indicates that our product is likely to be more expensive than other brands. The
price differential is as high as Rs. 100 compared to domestic brands and Rs. 150 when
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compromise on packaging. It is needless to add that our overheads are much higher than
other manufactures.
I am now faced with the dilemma of having developed a quality product ready to be
launched but at an exorbitant price. The development cost of this product was around Rs.
Validation
The next phase was validating the exercise. Dr. T. V. Rao suggested that we validate this
The exercise was scheduled for half a day. Dr. T. V. Rao would administer the exercise
and MD would be present. We picked 8 cases from Division and for Divisional General
Manager and 10 cases from Regions for the Regional General Manages separately as
both exercises need to be revalidated. General Managers were given 45 minutes to pause
and indicate the decision they would take on each of these issues. I sat there tentative and
wondering if this Company, Hindustan Engineering would come alive to each General
Manger. To my immense delight and surprise they were hard at work, furiously
scribbling their decisions. At the close of 45 minutes Dr. T. V. Rao initiated the
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situation. After each General Manager had responded, Vice-Presidents offered their
of decisions taken and then his personal views. His participation in the exercise was the
high point. His approach was so very insightful in diagnosis, rich in analysis of
minutes per situation. The atmosphere vibrated with the excitement of reality of the
situation and challenges. MD’s contributed provided a strong learning input for the
General Manger and Vice-Presidents. It was also one of the finest spectacle of leadership
in action.
As this entire exercise had a time constraint, seeing this exercise assume such rich tones
in discussion was gratifying. It was clear that these exercise were eliciting typical
behaviours of individuals.
Of course, we cold not take up all the diseases on account of constraint of time but at the
end of 4 hours of the exercise the group was asked for their comments. The group find
the exercise interesting. However, on account of strongly learning that emerged in the
course of discussions they tended to see the exercise more as a tool for development than
as potential assessment tool. They did not feel that it would be fair to assess people
through this exercise. There was no doubt at all that the exercise had withstood reality
testing. The General Managers felt that the other issues also need to be discussed and
that the forthcoming meetings of Vice-Presidents and General Manager should be used
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Based on General Managers’ responses we decided to use it for developments purpose. It
was decided that we would administer this exercise to a group of our Manager. We
panel of Vice-Presidents was formed to evaluate the responses, based on their collective
This time we combined Regional and Divisional situations – ten in all to be completed in
Before the issues were taken up for discussions, the Group was asked to comment on how
they felt they had performed. Most of these stated that assumptions on which they had
based their responses. This tended to very depending on each participant’s idea of a
General Manger’s role in a unit. Facilitator, problem solver, decision maker, visionary,
guide, etc. Responses also varied depending on each Manager’s characteristic way of
The discussion began with the Vice-Presidents regarding out the best responses of the
Group, issue by issue, followed by their collective view of the situations. Participants
General Mangers’ meeting demonstrated the value and strength in problem diagnosis and
which he always focused on the heart of the issues. The fact that he always had many
additional views made the learning experience a very rich one. Here was a role model
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Participants did not receive individual feedback, however, in addition to the group
feedback. The group sharing of responses would have enabled them to analyse where
their responses stood vis-à-vis Vice President’s responses, best responses of the group
Possible learning for the participants through this exercise were as follows :
Manager perspective.
3) Buck stops here. It was possible to assess how many would view this part of
the General Manager responsibility. Some would not confront the issues but
pricing keeping aside the long-term impact on Company image and customer
organisation.
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6) Data based decisions vs intuitive decision-making.
suggested facts, some other would proceed on assumptions not implicit in the
memo.
ideas – a role that subordinates often seek if only for affirmation of their own
ideas.
11) Confrontation and risk taking in decisions vs. a continuous precedent based
decision.
organisation today.
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2) It excites an individual to test his capability to meet simulated challenge – like
Apart from the feedback on his responses the learning is also from the
Manager’s role. Performance assessment does not give one a relative ranking
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7) In-Basket can be made very specific indeed. In our case we identified various
critical attributes and looked for responses to this. It is also amenable to being
3.7 HRD EXPERIENCE SIN THE STATE BANK OF INDIA – BY T.P. RAMAN
Pre-HRD Scene
The State Bank of India, which was natinalised in 1955, had 400 branches and around
10,000 employees at that point of time. Structurally, the 3 Local Head Offices that were
then there, were fond to be adequate from administration and management points of
view. The nationalization of the SBI in 1955 was the “first wage”. The “second wage”
was in 1972 when the Bank underwent a major structural change – more Local Head
Offices were opened between 1955-1972, to take care of the rapid expansion, Regional
Managers were appointed to look after specific areas and Regions, concept of
business/market segmentation was introduced and finally – probably the most important
one, was regarding the introduction of a system for Business and Performance Planning.
It can, therefore, be seen that the “second wave” in its wake ushered in significant
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The “Third wage” came in 1979-80 when the Bank introduced further structural changes.
The concept of a “Modular” structure emerged and the controlling points were shifted to
the business centres and there was geographic dispersal of administrative units. There
At that point of time, the SBI had a network of over 5,500 branches and 11 local Head
A few questions were raised (within the organisation) in the context of the structure that
i) While the Bank could find structural and systemic solution to its growth
ii) As an organisation, we had done well in business and other areas – but had
optimal ?
manner ?
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vi) Do the existing man-management systems help in integrating the
viii) Finally what are the values in respect of the People’s area ?
find answers for these questions certain factors had to be borne in mind. They
were :
behavioural problems.
Time was ripe for a “fourth wage” and there was one. The entire Personnel function was
Enter HRD
The man-management structure was re-defined and a special HRD structure was created.
Before a system could be designed, there was a need felt to (a) state our value in respect
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of the People’s area, (b) describe the aims and objectives of a having a HRD system. The
stated values are (i) that bank has respect for all individuals – all individuals should feel
wanted and valued in this organisation, (ii) that the Bank believes in the creation of an
“Enabling” culture whereby individuals have opportunities to grow to their full potential
“HRD in State bank is a continuous process, movement and direction to enable every
individual, as a member of an effective team and the State Bank Community, to realise
and activate his potential so as to contribute to the achievement of the Bank’s goals an
organisation.
goals.
A HRD system was then designed to fulfil the basic philosophies and aims. In brief, the
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i) A Manpower Planning System incorporating the quantitative and qualitative
change.
The Bank’s therefore was contemplating of ushering in a new era – a new culture and at
this point it would be interesting to look at the human dynamics. How did the People
i) Now that we have introduced HRD in the Bank we can expect all good things to
happen.
ii) There will not be reprimands and punishments and all of us will be
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iv) All of us will receive all types of training since HRD is synonymous
with training.
These then were the Peoples perceptions. expectations and it seemed to us that
What did we do ?
• We organised a series of seminars to spell out the HRD aims, objectives and
• We trained HRD Managers intensively, since these persons formed the critical group
• We organised Central Office level, Head Office level, Regional Office level and also
Branch level meetings to expand People’s awareness and more importantly to help
Thus began a process of education and information and though it was a laborious task
covering the Local Head Offices, Regional Offices and Branches, there was at the end of
it all a tremendous satisfaction that we made an attempt to get across most of the People.
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The HRD Era
So we ushered in a formal HRD system with very pious and sincere intentions. It is well
known that, in the context of introducing such human systems in a large organisation, (a)
People need to be enabled to work through structures and systems for total effectiveness,
(b) systems are necessary for proper implementation of HRD plans and also to
deliberately order the HRD processes, (c) there is need to develop a breed of HRD
As in the case of beginners the “first step” is always unstable – there is need for guidance
and support – steps to be cautiously taken and also measured. But we had, inevitably, to
take the first step forward and we did. We identified a group of persons we would be the
first group of HRD Managers and whose task would be to understand and implement the
HRD policies.
We designed a very intensive orientation programme for the team with a view to build
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• Developing People in an organisation.
• To learn to appreciate that it is a service wing – an enabling function rather than poor
function.
Outside experts were involved to help us in this effort and thus the first group of HRD
After initiating these people and also exposing them to the various behavioural
interventions, the HRD Managers were given the task of (a) spreading the HRD message,
(b) expand People’s awareness about HRD in the Bank, (c) organising and implementing
the HRD plans that were initially drawn up, (d) informing Central Office of the progress
Charged, as they were, with the initial zeal and enthusiasm, they ventured forth in right
earnest. They organised meetings, seminars at various points to educate people and they
also brought out booklets and news letter. Every training programme at the Training
Centres had necessarily an input on HRD. They went round meeting several groups
explaining the rationale and the mechanisms associated with the different HRD systems
like Manpower Planning, Performance appraisal, Job Rotation etc. Thus began a process
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After a gap of time, it was felt that a review was required to be made. HRD Mangers,
Central Office representatives and the consultants were all present at a review meeting.
• It is impossible to change the culture of this organisation given our history and
colonial background.
There was thus a feeling of helplessness and a feeling of doubt but at the same time
• There are no doubts about the Management’s intentions and also about the efficiency
of HRD interventions.
• If what is intended happens – our organisation will be the best in the country.
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The bowings were at once hot and cold.
• They felt uncomfortable to deal in an area where things were not structured.
• Used, as they are, to working in structured situations, they expressed some difficulties
We then started organising specific HRD programmes to cover this group and in addition
there was a Head Office to Head Office campaign by Central Office functionaries. This
process helped in bringing about greater clarity about the HRD function and processes.
Thus began a process of re-education and re-training – through this process we were
focusing on setting right their Perspectives and more importantly on enabling them to
understand the implications of introducing change in the organisation. The idea was to
help them to take a proactive stance whereby they are able to anticipate People’s
With renewed knowledge and skills, these persons again went about their tasks and thus
At this stage it occurred to us that there was perhaps a need to review, (a) the activities in
the HRD area, (b) to analyse the feedback received through workshops and seminars and
also to recognise our strategies and approaches in view of the emerging data. A high
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level Conference was convened in which the Dy. Managing Director, Chief General
Manager (Personnel and HRD), General Mangers (Planning) from Head Offices and all
HRD Managers participated. A totally open atmosphere was created and for 3 days, the
participants shared and examined a lot of data and at the end of the Conference the
The next few days were spent in writing out the HRD document after which a
presentation was made to the Top Management. The Top Management team,
which comprised the Chairman, Director and the Dy. Managing Directors,
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The Top Management also decided to form a small team to officers, who were
in the HRD area, to go round all the 13 Local Head Offices to make a similar
• There was greater appreciation of HRD objectives at top, senor and middle
levels.
• People in the organisation were able to see and appreciate that this was a
existed, seemed to have been broken and our efforts enabled us to get in
existed, seemed to have been broken and our efforts enabled us to get in
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Towards a Planned Approach
So far the attempt was to develop an understanding of HRD processes and also of the
kinds of implications it had. We had to be very clear as to what it meant to us. And also
about the kinds of changes we wanted to bring about in the organisation. We also had to
be clear about the kinds of impact that these systems/processes would have on the
The next step was to evolve a comprehensive HRD plan for the organisation.
I have mentioned about the various mechanisms for an effective data based man-
take prudent personnel excisions without a proper data based. Well, there was a need
identified and we designed relevant systems. Let’s not look at the implementation
process. Persons at all levels appreciated the need for having such data based mechanism
– so there was now mental inhibition to move towards a culture of data based personnel
management. But there were a few problems at the implementation level. They were –
(i) A feeling of discomfort in understanding and implementing data based systems,. (ii)
Too many hassles involved in collecting and updating manpower at, (iii) Having been
However, we persisted in our efforts and started educating our HRD and Personal
Mangers and training was provided to them in the use of data based packages. They were
asked to acquire Personal Computers so that they could have up-to-date profiles of all
personnel.
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There is now a better understanding and also appreciation of data based systems and we
The focus was, therefore, on knowing fro ourselves as to where we were, where we are
It was very clear to us that before we really thought it terms of evolving any plan, it
would be necessary to look at the sheet anchor of all RHD efforts viz., the manpower
planning function. This to our mind was a very critical component of the entire HRD
framework. Not that we did not have any scientific manpower system-earlier but the
focus was more on trying to evolve a plan both quantitative and qualitative which will be
in tune with the total HRD efforts. In fact, we wanted an integrated manpower plan.
The system in the SBI in regard to the determination of manpower needs was useful tool
was yet to be developed. We took a view that there was basically three components
which contribute to the development of a manpower plan. They are business expansion,
Fortunately, for us we had already adopted a system of having a long ranted planning and
this to a very large extent helped us in making reasonably accurate forecasts but there
mechanism by which a linkage was drawn, to the business growth of the Bank and the
number of employees that are there at any given point of time. This formula would
throw out the business per employee at any given point of time and by assessing the trend
of growth over the years, a decision can be taken to step this up by a predetermined
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percentage so as to reach desirable levels of productivity. This of course took into
account factors like inflation and more importantly the stretch factor by the existing
employees. While this was alright for making macro level projection, we had to find a
classifying our branches into various population groups was carried out. Matrices were
worked out indicating linkages of manpower with business levels also to determine
acceptable manpower levels. This to a large extent took care of the regional disparities
and also the special characteristics of branches in the semi-urban and rural areas. While
there was acceptance of this mechanism at all levels there was an ambivalent response to
the application of this mechanism at all levels there was an ambivalent response to the
application of such scientific tools. Questions were raised about the peculiar nature of
the different branches, the responsibilities which these branches had and so on. We,
therefore, commenced the task of educating our Managers in this regard in an effort to
convince the task of educating our Managers in this regard in an effort to convince them
of the logic of having scientific parameters for determining manpower requirements and
more importantly to get over the inhibition that all problems at branches were due to staff
shortages. It took us a couple of years by the time we were able to convince them of the
realism of the matter. As regards their fears about the problems at branches arising due
to completely erase from their minds thee kinds of inhibitions. In these sorts of exercises
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2) There should be indisputable parameters.
3) They should, of course, reflect the Top Management concerns about having a
process.
We started interfacing with the Circle Chiefs and with the Personnel and HRD
Managers. Each case was analysed and base don hard data projections were worked
out. This effort took us more than 2 years but it was an effort worth its while and
We started interfacing with the Circle Chiefs and with the Personnel and HRD
Mangers. Each case was analysed and based on hard data projections were worked
out. This effort took us more than 2 ears but it was an effort worth its while and
Having worked out a 2 way model for determining the manpower needs the next
important step was to determine the qualitative manpower requirements for the Bank.
2) We did role analysis and determined the skills needed for the various jobs.
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3) An exercise was also done to determined the future skills needs in terms of the
emerging scenario and the new skills or the changes in the existing skills pattern
We had to organise several workshops covering various groups of people and what
finally emerged was a skills profile of the various jobs. Simultaneously, we took up
the task of updating the skills record of our employees. The whole idea was to evolve
terms of their career plans and skill orientations. At the Circle level, a scientific job
rotation plan was drawn up with a view to imparting basic skills. Each branch, in this
kind of an exercise, is required to maintain data about the types of jobs which each
employee has already performed is required toperform considering the length of the
clerical service. We thus worked out a model which should enable to clerk to cover
all areas in a seven year span so that when he is promoted to the officers cadre he has
the basic skills. While the unions were fairly supportive in this matter thee was the
were unable to stick to a job rotation plan. However, we were persuasive and were
able to convince the Branch Managers of the need to have scientific job rotation
plans. It is now being implemented with a new aberrations. Coming back to the
skills, I have already stated that we were more keen of trying to project a futuristic
skills mode. The Banking scenario 10 years hence had to be visualized and all the
the banking system within the country had to be keenly observed and finally the
future technological scene had also to be visualized. This was in itself a very great
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task and we can now say that with a reasonable degree of accuracy we have been able
to arrive at the changes in existing skills patterns and also about the new types of
Performance Appraisal
Now let me focus on a very critical HRD Component – the Performance Appraisal
System. As was the case in most of the organisations, SBI, too, had a system of
present context, did stand the tests of time. It was possible for the Management,
certain specific area of performance, was used in writing reports on individuals. The
essential features of a Confidential Reporting System are : (i) It reflects the views and
appraisor and appraisee, (iii) This is an instrument more used for taking promotion
decisions, (iv) There is no scope for providing feedback to the appraisee on his
performance, (v) Growth needs/training needs do not get reflected in this system,
In introducing a HRD system in the Bank, we had to think in terms of having (a) a
data based appraisal system – reducing subjectivity to the minimum, (B0 a system
whereby a person can develop some clarity about his role, (c) a system which
involves the appraisee in the goal setting process, (d) a mechanism whereby it is
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possible for the Boss and subordinate to share each other’s expectations, (e) a system
that :
• Moving from a totally closed system to a more open system had its problems.
• Even people at significant levels would have reservations and also feel
had to be taken and we took the decision to change our appraisal system –
our aims were to (a) have a data based appraisal system, (b0 involved
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about growth and development of persons in the organisation, (e) have an
appraisal system which can facilitate the entire HRD process in the
organisation.
An appraisal system was then designed which has the following components :
iii) A process of joint discussion between appraisor and appraisee and joint
settlement of KPAs.
ix) Counselling.
The next question – a very critical once at that was to find ways and approaches
Where do we make a beginning ? Which are the levels that are going to be
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covered ? Do we cover the whole organisation or do we restrict coverage ?
which is the ideal setting for a good start ? These were some of the questions
Answer to these questions were found that and the following implementation plan
was evolved :
ii) PAS should be introduced in one centre – so that intensive and close
monitoring is possible.
restricted to one relationship which is very crucial from the change point
of view.
Ahmedabad was consequently chosen of the experiment process and one Regional
So, in 1981 we decided to launch the PAS experiment in Ahmedabad and a lot of
preparatory work needed to be done. The Circle Management members the other
executives at the Circle level had to be educated and the nuances of the PAS
needed to be explained. The next task was to thoroughly brief the HRD Managers
about the ways of going about the experiment. A few trainers, had to be
identified who could help the HRD Managers in the experimentation process.
Finally, the Regional Managers and Branch Managers, who were to be covered by
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the first experiment, were thoroughly educated. The system and its process were
explained in detail to them and several of their doubts were clarified. After
setting the scene and after several workshops, the Branch Managers were asked to
identify their KPAs and settle them with their Regional Managers. The process
were going through and it was decided to have a view of the individual
There was Central Office participation in the review meeting and there was an
4) There was good improvement in the dyadic relationships and there was
greater communication.
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This data is the result of review workshops, studies and responses to
questionnaires.
Encouraged by this experiment, a decision was taken to cover more persons in the
experiment and more Regional Managers and Branch Managers were covered
this time. Again the whole process, of educating, persons to be covered by the
experiment, was gong through. KPAs were settled and at the end of the year there
was a review of the whole process. When compared with the first experiment
where the group was small, we this time had slightly bigger group. The review
• The discussion time was slightly less in comparison with the earlier
discussion.
• Persons could see things happening – results of their efforts were becoming
visible.
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There were a few who felt that because the group were small, there were positive
feeling sand such things would not be possible where more dyadic groups are
involved.
The Ahmedabad experiments were very satisfying experiences and we were thus
encouraged to extent the canvas of the PAS experiment. Even at this stage there
were no ideas about the official introduction of the system since we wanted to
gain more experience and were also keen on watching the results when the entire
willingness to carry out the experiments in their Head Offices. They were keen
and eager - however, a decision was taken to extend the coverage of the
Branch Mangers in these five Circles settled their KPAs after due decisions and
• There was a feeling that since the Regional Manager is the boss things tended
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• There are possibilities of improving relationships and also communication.
And so it went on. The HRD Managers were, however, confident of carrying the
decided to have a quick meeting of all HRD Managers and the General Managers
(Planning). At this meeting the earlier feedback was shared and the future plans
were laid before them. They all felt that any change in human appraisal systems
would result in mixed reactions – People will tend to blow hot and cold. Since we
should change the appraisal mechanism, they voted in favour of the experiment
and agreed to lend full support this time, we added Delhi and Chandigarh circles
to our experiment list. We also went a step further – in the 5 circles which
already had some earlier experience, we added a few more dyads. The Chief
Divisions relationship were also covered. Workshops at the Circle level were
quickly organised and the Chief Regional Mangers and Managers of Divisions
were educated. At the end of the year, there was a detailed review – we were in
the third year of experimentation. In the review the following feedback emerged.
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• It provides scope for persons to think about their roles and identifying distinct
goals.
• The present organisation culture would not be supportive for introducing such
system.
• Regardless of the intent of the PAS – bosses will have their final say.
• KPAs are in the nature of certain “should” and “musts” not essentially
system.
Well, in terms of review feedback, there was nothing surprising. But what was
disturbing was the people’s ambivalence. It seemed that they wanted a change in
the appraisal system and at the same time were finding it difficult to shake off the
old system. Another disturbing feature was about the refusal on the part of the
about the Performance of a Branch Manager. We went a little deep into this
phenomenon just to see whether people have ceased to value the existence of
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persons ad individuals. We then discovered that all the systems n the past were
focusing around the role which was why the “individual” got absorbed into the
Manager (Operations) and so on, where as they could also have used their actual
Again Seminars and Workshops were organised to re-education People about the
PAS and in these workshops special care was taken to focus on the processes
By this time we had briefed the other Circles about the need to implement the
PAS - HRD Managers and General Mangers of the remaining 6 Circles were
specially invited and after discussions it was agreed that they too would
experiment the system. The system was no poised for experimentation on an all-
India basis. After the processes were gone through, we decided to have detailed
review. All the HRD Managers and General Managers were invited to a
• There are still doubts in the minds of People about the processes connected
• People are not too sure whether the right cultural scenario would emerge.
• A few Circles and standardised KPAs for different roles and even made copies
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• The 2 Prominent KPAs or I would even say the 2 Universal KPAs were
quickly take a decision to officially introduce the system. Persons were not
• The system is good – everyone likes it and also want it and if Management is
need to be carried on further, but this time it would be a total experiment. All
agreed to this and we decided that we would launch the final experiment with all
vigour and by taking into account the lesions learnt from the previous
concentrated fully on the Processes. Persons were allowed to raise doubts and we
were there to clarify those doubts. Someone said that the system is a very nice
my head into a pre-set noose. A lot of clarifications were given and all their
anxieties were handled and we felt that we needed to concentrate on this process
i.e., allaying their fears – handling all their questions etc. If we had not done this,
their attitudes would have hardened and perhaps rigidified and it would have been
very difficult for us to resurrect the situation. People were covered over again
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through Seminars/Workshops and each issued was handled very carefully and
emphatically. The process continued – KPAs were again settled and we were
decide upon our future approaches. We raised several questions among ourselves
the next year ? Should we talk to the Unions ? What happens if this year’s
experiment is not very successful ? Why should we take the risk of bringing
about change? - Why not allow things to continue as they were ? When we do
hope. A Hope that this organisation has always responded to change – has always
been adaptive – and the People, once they accept change, will internalize change
in no time.
We had carried on the PAS experiment for 4 years now – People’s understandings
about the system were sought to be bettered, their apprehension, fears and
anxieties were analysed and answers were found – we developed clarity about the
group which favoured the early introduction of the system and also about the
group which were ambivalent and the groups which were not in favour. We also
generated voluminous data from our experiment, which were analysed and fed to
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We finally took a great step forward – of introducing the PAS covering the entire
organisation and also of discarding the Confidential Reporting System from 1986
onwards. But this leap forward needed to be done carefully. We then adopted the
following strategy :
i) As stated earlier we had all the data – they were analysed into positive
and negative.
ii) The group in favour, those not in favour and those who were ambivalent,
were identified.
iii) The forces, which were supporting the process and which were not
iv) Top Management was briefed and their support commitment were sought.
v) Critical groups of persons were formed in different Circles and they were
the new PAS. This time we discussed in detail the Confidential Reporting
System and asked the participants to identify the merits/demerits and more
importantly the kinds of problems faced by them. These were listed out
and discussed in the community sessions. The same persons were then
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which they would like to recommend to the Top Management. These
were then listed. We then would describe the features of the new PAS and
the participants then found that the new system satisfied all their
expectations. The kinds of the things they would like – open discussions,
review and joint rating, were all there. Thus, there was better
was not typical of a one sided system. They were convinced that there
was greater demonstration and that the Top Management truly believed in
organised, since these persons are the critical links in the whole chain.
Their views were sought and they also decided that we should introduce
the system officially. We then spelt out the kind of a role that they would
in simple terms the operating of the system. The processes, the roles of
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With these preparatory efforts we finally launched the new system in Arial 1986
Having taken a decision to launch the system on a fully scale, we were aware that
this was no the end of the story. We knew that the couldn’t rest on our oars –
there was more to be done. The process of settlement of KPAs started in right
earnest and no efforts were spared by the People who were incharge of
from Central Office we visited each Local Head Office and convened a meeting
of the Chief Regional Managers and Regional Managers. In this meeting the
settled appraisal forms were examined in detail. There were quite a few
aberrations – thee were corrected. Wherever the settlements were not or our
all concerned that without demur some of them went through the process again.
We took a view that it was better to correct the processes at the initial stages.
This process continued for about 3 months but the effort was worthwhile. A
actually go through the settlements and this data was used to reoganise their
perceptions.
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Let me now touch upon one of the very critical components of HRD viz. Training, The
training function in the SBI has a long history. The Training System is now recognised
as one of the best in the country. While there is no doubt that we have been able to
achieve a high degree of effectiveness in this area, it is to be reckoned that this has been
possible due to our self-renewing efforts from time to time. Dating back to 1954 when
Training Centres. Around 60,000 persons pass through our training system annually. It
will be too much of a detail if I describe the progress in last 3 decades – I therefore, wish
to discuss the experiences in the training area after the introduction of the HRD system in
the Bank.
In order to optimize the efforts of training and also to give a new sense of direction, we
The comprehensive document was prepared, which today is our Training Bible.
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The main features of our Training System are :
2) Division of training areas between the Staff Colleges and the Training Centres
in the nature of the Institutes of higher learning. The Staff Training Centres
3) Specialized Institutions have been created – one for Rural Development and
“Training in the State Bank is a Proactive, Planned and Continuous Process as an integral
As I have stated earlier, there is a constant review of the training function and based on
the emerging data, the task for redesigning/evolving new designs, it taken up. It has been
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our experience that a lot of proaction is necessary in an area like training. Let me give a
few examples. A few years ago we visalised that our Institutional Training Structure
would not be in a position to cope with the training needs in the basic banking areas.
We, therefore, introduced the Visiting Faculty scheme, whereby training packages are
delivered at branches. We also visualized the emerging banking scenario – the kinds of
changes that are taking place in banking methods, systems of finance and on the
Transition Programmes have been designed to enable persons to smoothly transit from
one role to another. Special programmes have also been designed for the Top
Management Groups.
explosion – but thee is also a need to be informed. We, therefore, have started a system
For us training has been a highly dynamic areas and the training system has plead a
critical role in facilitating the following thins (apart from its designated role):
1) Ushering in change
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2) Handing People’s issues, anxieties and fears.
While our training efforts were basically focused on building the right type of
that there was another critical dimension which needed a lot of attention, the
emerging on the banking scene in a very big way and however much banking
organisations try to build up the other skills among their people there is always a
problem among the managers of managing the environment in which they are
functioning. Out training efforts, were, therefore, immediately geared to meet this
introduced special inputs in the existing programmes to fulfill this need. It is our
experience today that our mangers are better equipped to deal with the emerging
situations than they were a few years ago. It was perhaps the practice among various
organisations to allow their managers to develop such capabilities on their own and
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there was very little focus on building these capabilities in a systematic manner. It is
therefore clear tome that this dimension need particular attention and unless all
managers are equipped along these lines it may be very difficult to manage situations
and the emerging environment. This process has also helped us in making our
managers self-depending and thus be in at position to take more risks and finally to
the organisation itself needs to develop it own problem-solving capabilities and more
important point of HRD work and towards this objective we had to design
carrying change in our existing surreys, were designed and thee were used to bring
about change in our existing systems. The training system as such is a wonderful
using this specialists in the Bank whose main job would be to vary out the diagnostic
studies, analyze the feedback and suggest interventions for better effectiveness of
the organisation. Special programmes were designed and we today have a lot of
people who tare trained in this area. We also used these groups oftentimes to bring
about change in the organisation. The job of the OD facilitators is mainly to study
situations from time to time diagnostically, and suggest suitable interventions. These
people who are trained in this area. We also used these groups often time to bring
about from time to time diagnostically, and suggest suitable interventions. These pole
specific suggestions and interventions for better functioning of the branches. Out
experience is that tremendous work has been done by these facilitators in tiring to
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identify specific problems. In such an exercise the approach has been to gather as
much data as it possible about the situation or the problems, followed by interviews
and discussions with the persons connected with the situations and based upon these,
a final diagnosis is made about the type of the problem or the issue. Once this
process is completed, the interventions become very clear. Let me give you an
example : We ha eases of branches where there is unrest among the staff and there
are also indications of the books not being balanced and unsatisfactory customer
service. While in normal situation a view would have been taken that it is the
situation that needed to be tackled or probably the staff is not motivated to keep the
branch in good shape but when we put our OD facilitators on the job they are able to
go deep into the problem and are able to discover the root cause of the problem - it
have several instances of this sort where periodical data had been made available as a
result of which viable decisions could be taken. Our next effort was to now build
these commutabilities among our Branch Managers and Regional Managers because
their are the people who are directly in charge of situations. A comprehensive plan
was evolved and many Branch Mangers and Regional Managers were put through
studies and think of possible interventions for better effectiveness. Thus we were
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we wee ushering in major change in the organisation and these were planned changes.
possibilities and problems and the takes of these specialists or change again was to
facilitate the change process. In our experience, we have been very well benefited by
such strategies and we were able to anticipate issues and anxieties which are normally
associated with the change. Our present efforts in respect of our managers are in
enabling them to managers change in a proactive fashion rather than in reactive way.
In order to bring about involvement of the rank and file for greater effectiveness, we
had started the Manger to Messenger meetings. These meetings are very information
wherein everyone could participate and air his view and problems. In short, this
method leads to generation of ideas on a massive scale and our experience has been
that we could use their reservoir of ideas for shaping our strategies and approaches
towards better customer services, better house-keeping and more importantly better
staff relations.
Let me now talk about the concept of Quality Circles as it is applicable in our Bank
today. We started in a very small way n one Circle by taking a few branches and
training the staff there. Today there are quite a few Quality Circles doing very good
work. These Quality Circles comprised people working at branches – both clerks and
officers – and they have regular meetings to generate ideas about the kinds of
problems and issues confronting them. Their efforts are usually focused on
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The result have been very rewarding. Our major gain has been the setting in of a
process of better involvement by the rank and file in the institution building effort.
We are confident that this involvement by the rank and file in the institution building
effort. We are confident that this movement will catch on and prove to be a very
Finally, I would like to share some of the experiences relating to the career plan
dimension. The SBI has all along been having very well formulated Placement,
transfer and promotion policies which have stood the test of time. We found that
there is a need to integrate this into a comprehensive career plan which could indicate
acquire the different types of capabilities that he needs to have not only in respect of
his repent assignment but ore importantly in respect of the assignments that heeds
need to hold in future. The exercise involved the identification of the skills and
attributes required at different levels and working of a plan for individuals to acquire
the technical competencies at the lower eels, managerial competencies at the middle
and higher levels and conceptual abilities at the top levels. A comprehensive
framework has been evolved indicating the on-the-job exposure and the institutional
training exposure which persons need at different points of time. We are very sure
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that this will help us in building the type of people we want in this organisation
I have attempted to present the HRD experiences in a conceptual form – the process
of experiencing goes on. HRD is truly a continuous process – the area is really very
vast, and has cosmic dimensions. There is a great deal of challenge – we have our
agonizing and ecstatic moments and the hope, of building a better organisation
In this mammoth effort of carrying the HRD tasks further, we have learnt a few
lessons.
Changes concerning People would have to be properly planned and executed and
People’s anxieties, fears and doubts need to be handled properly at each step test their
changes.
Changes agent and critical mass need to be built up if change has to be facilitated.
Top commitment and support are absolutely vital for all HRD efforts.
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Implantation of “ready-made” systems is infeasible – these would need to be adapted
or modified after due consideration of the cultural patterns and the value systems
Changes are often time resisted at the middle and senior levels.
Cultural backgrounds of People have a strong bearing on their belief and support of
HRD efforts.
The size of an organisation and its geographical spread are no hindrance for
The learning process is continuous – we need to take the lessons learnt seriously and
For those of us in the HRD area these experience are very significant –for these gives us
new insights – ideas about new approaches. Unlike technical and systemic interventions
where results are visible or can even be forecast with a certain degree of precision, HRD
measurement of results. People, who matter and who are keenly observing the
programmes in the HRD area, will judge us by how have impacted on people, on
207
MS-22
Human Resource
Development
Block
2
HRD and the Supervisor
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
Task Analysis
UNIT 6
UNIT 7
Developmental Supervision
UNIT 8
This Block has vie units dealing with the line managers’ role in the development of
individual employees in dyadic relationship through analysing their key tasks, motivating
and nurturance.
Unit 4 set the framework by presenting an HRD matrix, the two as formed by the targets
or foci of RHD, and HRD systems, then it focuses on the line mangers role in HRD,
especially in the six systems (appraisal systems career systems, training system’s work
Unit 5 deals with a potential HRD tool which deserves more attention that it has
received, viz. Task Analysis. Task Analysis can be used by a supervisor to understand,
and help an employee appreciate, the key contribution of a job or role to the orgnisational
goals, and lay foundation for performance monitoring and development of individual
Unit 6 spells out the conditions of employee motivation. It discuss a new approach to
motivating organisation roles rather than individual employees, and the part played by the
managerial behaviour.
Unit 7 focuses on the nurturing role of the supervisor of empowering individual
supervision to develop effective teams and committed employees. The supervisors’ role
Unit 8 deals with the difficult are of nurturing and helping the employees. The
supervisor both listens to the employees and raises questions forte employees to search
achieve this. The process of mentoring to help young and competent employees to grow
in the organisation, and the need to develop effective mentors are also discussed.
In this Block hierarchical terms for the dyadic group, line superior-subordinate, senior-
been used.
UNIT 4 LINE MANAGERS AND HRD
Objectives
• Appreciate the need of collaboration between HRD personnel and line managers for
Structure
The concept of HRD has been discussed in details in Unit 1 of the Course MS-02
This definition of RHD is limited to the organisational context. In the context of a state
HRD is a process, not merely a set of mechanisms and techniques. The mechanisms and
development interventions are used to initiate, facilitate, and promote this prices in a
continuous way. Because the process ha no limit, the mechanisms may need to be
examined periodically to see whether they are promoting or hindering the process.
Organisations can facilitate this process of development of planning for it, by allocating
organisational resources for the purpose, and by exemplifying an HRD philosophy that
Three emphases are involved in the concept of HRD. In the first place, persons working
in organisations are regarded as valuable resource : implying that there is a need to invest
time and effort I their development. Secondly, they are human resource which means
that they have their own special characteristics and therefore cannot be treated like
material resources. This focus on the need to humanize organisational life, and introduce
human values in the organisation. And thirdly, human resource does not merely focus on
employees as individuals, but also on other human units and processes in the
organisation. These include the role or the job a person has in the organisation, the
dyadic unit (consisting of the person and his boss), the various teams in which people
work, interterm and the total organisation. Thus we have six units which are included in
human resources : persons, jobs or roles, dyads, teams, interterm, and the organisation.
The individual employee is the key unit in an organisation. HRD is primarily concerned
with the development of persons working in the organisation, so that may be able to have
their own fulfillment and contribute to the goals of the organisation. Development of
competencies to manage his/her work effectively. This would involved learning how to
set realistic goals. The goals must be challenging, but not tool high for individual to
achieve. The individual should also learn to analyse the perform results interms of
factors responsible for the success or failure in achieving performance results. Some of
the factors related to the employee while other may be concerned with external
conditions. Finally, self management would involve using such information and
job. The individual employee comes with his/her educational background and personal
strengths and weaknesses. While working in the organization she learns new skills,
HRD should help in the process of such advancement. We shall later see that
responsibilities in the organisation, and helping them to develop further potential to take
up new challenges.
The Role
necessary to pay attention to roles independently. Role is not synonymous with although
both are very similar. Nor is role synonymous with status or position in organisation.
persons (who have face-to face relationship with the role occupant) have from him/her.
There are three main aspects of the development of role with which HRD must be
concerned.
1) Optimum Stress: Each role must have enough challenges which may help the
occupant to stretch herself/himself to meet the challenge. The role in which the scope is
limited to routine work and in which role occupants do not see any challenges, is not
likely to inspire the role occupants to do their best. They will feel under worked. While
every role has routine elements, challenge must also developed in every role. However,
the challenge should not exceed a limit, otherwise it may produce dysfunctional stress,
resulting in poorer performance and damage to the health of the employee. Building
optimum stress in the role like setting the strings to a musical instruments at a level where
the strings are stretched enough to produce music, but not too much stretched to break.
organisational roles with challenging goals. If the roles get isolated and produce feeling
in the role occupants that their work is very narrow (and not much useful wider groups)
3) Autonomy: If individuals who occupy the various roles feel that they have end
scope of taking initiative or solving problems or doing creative work, the role occupants
as well as the organisation benefit a great deal, HRD must attempt develop the autonomy
of this kind in every role, even at the lowest level in the organisation.
The Dyad
The dyadic groups (an employee and his supervisor) are the basic building block an
organisation structure. The stronger the dyads are, the stronger the organisation will be.
is established between an employee and his supervisor. Trust does not develop easily:
2) Mutuality: Effective dyads will require free exchange of help between the employee
and the supervisor. Helping relationship is not a non-way relationship. The supervisor
should take help from his employees, as much as he would give them the needed help.
communication between the members (the employee and the supervisor). Both should be
able to give feedback to each to other. The employee should improve his ability to
receive feedback, as the supervisor should improve his competence to coach the
employee.
The Team
Effective teams are quite important for the strength of the organisation. Primarily two
1) Cohesion: The teams should be cohesive. Well-knit teams produce synergy, and are
amongst member of the team. This would both satisfy the members, because each will
contribute whatever resources one has, and help the team to produce effective results.
Poor teams rely on and use resources only of a few members, resulting in limited
The Interteam
The main emphasis of interterm is to develop cooperation amongst various groups in the
organisation. (e.g. departments, divisions, functions) so that they are able to work
develop corporate identity. When the teams are strong nod work on their own goals only,
there is a possibility of the organisation to become weak. While teams should work on
their own goals, their linkages with the organization and their identity with it would be
As far as the organisation is concerned the following three aspects should deserve the
its size, activities and operations. Every organisation looks forward to this growth. Even
if growth is not in terms of its size the organisation may be concerned with providing
2) Impact: Each organisation would like to have some impact on the outside
organisations or customers etc. Impact may be into terms of developing new markets,
developing services or products, introducing new technology which others can follow
etc.
3) Self-renewal: The organisation must examine its working from time to time and teak
steps to update its technology. It should also analyse the present and potential problems
imminent on its growth, and take steps to prepare itself to meet these challenges. Self-
To sum up, HRD is concerned with development of the following six human units of an
As discussed above there are six foci or targets of HRD (the person, the role, the dyad,
the team, the interterm, the organisation). In other words, the scope of HRD is to develop
(i.e. increase effectiveness and potential of) these human units. These foci or targets of
HRD form one adix. The other axis is formed by HRD systems and activities discussed
in this section. These two axes make what can be called the HRD Matrix. Over time in
India several HRD practices have emerged. There is no single way to classify HRD
activities and efforts. The classification system suggested here is based on both the new
emerging trends in the HRD work in India, as well as a conceptual understanding of the
main focus for HRD. HRD activities should be concerned with developing systems to
make individuals (and the roles), and the organisation (and the teams) more effective.
The systems primarily concerned with individual employees (and their role) relate to their
appraisal, their advancement and their training. The systems concerned with
development of the organisation (and its team) would relate to management of work,
management of culture, and renewal of the organisation. We suggest the following six
HRD systems.
Appraisal systems
Appraisal systems have attracted the most attention in recent years in India. There are
performance coaching. Out of these, much more attention has been given to performance
appraisal. In many cases in the absence of attention has been given to performance
coaching, performance appraisal has become a mechanical exercise. Very little attention
Career Systems
Career systems are concerned with the advancement of the individual employees in their
careers in the organization. The first step is taken in introducing career development
plans so that employees joining at an entry point are helped to go through various
experience which may help them to move up in the organization, and may give them
other hand, is concerned with charting specific career paths for the individual employees
who have spent enough time in the organisation, and have proved their competence. The
third element, which has been used only in a few organisations in India is mentoring
which we have discussed in more details in Unit 8 of this block. Mentoring ensures
individual attention to young potential employees for their possible fast growth in the
organisation.
Training Systems
Training systems is the oldest element of HRD and does not require much discussion.
system, curriculum designing, to meet specific needs, follow-up and evaluation, and post-
Work systems
Generally work systems have not attracted attention in HRD effort in India. Moreover,
HRD has remained mostly confined to managerial levels. HRD must deal with work
Task analysis remains a neglected aspect in HRD. It can provide better understanding of
the key contribution each job should make to the organisational aspects. Since it is an
Although some work has been done on quality of work life, more attention to this
important aspect is needed. This will include work place democracy, autonomous work
stress and role stress is increasing. Some organisation have started programmes to deal
with stress. Stress audit and stress management programmes help both individuals and
the organisation.
Cultural Systems
Cultural systems are most neglected part of HRD. Three aspects deserve attention in this
regard. HRD should pay attention to development of organization culture which will
sustain the kind of effort HRD has developed. Attention to development of appropriate
organisational climate is equally important. Some work has already started in some
problems may arise because of lack of attention to various aspects of communication (top
reinforced. Reward system, including incentive schemes, both for individuals and for
teams, deserves careful attention. Rewards work both ways. They can facilitate and
promote good work, but if they are not properly designed, they can also do a great harm
to the organization.
Self-renewal Systems
As organisation should be concerned not only with its growth, but also with its health. It
needs to diagnose its problems from time to time and take steps to develop new
competency to cope with the various problems and challenges it would be facing. This
effective teams to diagnose the problems and initiate process of collaborative work to
management, creation of strong teams etc. and establishing processes that build a climate
concerned with learning from the experience, and utilization of such learning for future
effectiveness.
The third aspect of this system will be research orientation in HRD, which means
consciously collecting data in order to understand the various issues, and designing
interventions based on such data. For example, data should be collected on the working
of appraisal system, benefit to and difficulties experienced by different groups. Such data
will help to improve implementation of the appraisal system. HRD related research is
important for HRD effectiveness: it helps in analyzing data and information generated by
Table 1 summaries the different elements of the six HRD systems in the form of a matrix,
one axis being HRD systems, and the other being the targets or foci of HRD.
Table 1
*Potential Planning
Appraisal
* Developing
* Critical
* Attributes
Dyad * * * Training in *
Review and
Coaching
* Feedback
on HRD
• Team
Appraisa
l
• * Team
Counsell
ing
Inter-team * common * * *
of Appraisal * Quality of
* Parity of work
Appraisal
Learning
Activity A
Using table 1, prepare your own ranking of the six HRD systems in terms of their
Line mangers have an important role to play in ensuring the realisation of HRD
objectives. While the top management should make available the resources required for
investment on human resources, and the HRD department should provide for investments
and systems that can be used by the organisation to develop its human resources, it is
ultimately the line managers who translate these into action. This involves first of all
realisation on the part of the line managers that they have the responsibility to develop
To understand the role to be played by the line managers in developing human resources,
it is necessary to understand the concept of development and the conditions under which
may help in performing the exiting tasks better or faster, or in performing new tasks.
concepts, ideas etc.) attitudes and orientations, values and skills. These may deal with
1) The employee should perceive that his acquiring new competencies helps him
4) The employees should have mechanisms of accessing his own rate of growth
A line manager plays an importance role in creating these conditions for his employees.
Quite often managers are under the impression that HRD department should ensure that
these conditions are met. HRD departments can only provide instruments or mechanisms
for use by the lien managers to create these conditions, but cannot create these conditions.
HRD department line mangers play complimentary roles. Each supplements (and
periodical feedback.
supervisor.
Every employee would like to grow and build his own career in his organisation or
experienced and senior manager are in a better position to guide their juniors due to the
larger perspectives and better understanding they have about the organization as well as
the outside world. Therefore one important role managers can play is to help their
employees develop right perspectives about their carrier opportunities , set realistic career
goals and work for them. More specifically the following can be done.
1) Identify career opportunities in the organisation for each employee, and assess
2) Help the employees assess their own capabilities in relation to the possible
6) Help those whoa reached a saturation level in the organisation and those who
do not have any further career opportunities to become aware for their limits
and accept the reality without any sense of inferiority, and plan for future.
HRD department, so that they can review, and if necessary, redesign the
mentoring system.
Training is the most direct way of helping an employee acquire new competencies. Here
2) Identify training needs of each employee working with him against these
problem-solving skills.
5) Sponsor the employees for training with the help of the HRD departments.
competencies developed during trading, and have discussions with them about
opportunities for trying out what they have learnt, and provide opportunities
for trying out what they have learn, and provide opportunities for their
application.
Regarding quality of work lie, the main responsibility of line managers includes the
following :
1) Invite HRD experts to design and introduce participatory systems like
HRD personnel can only provide the process help by helping line managers to
design quality circles, groups etc. and make them more effective. The main
responsibility of the line managers will be to invite HRD help both in the
designing of such groups and reviewing their programmes form time to time.
The line managers should critically review and evaluate the functioning of
such groups after about a year of learning from the past experience. HRD help
Regarding culture and climate the following responsibilities can be taken by line mangers
1) Analyse with the help of HRD mangers, implication for various practices in
communication in various groups like committees, task forces, project groups etc.
Line mangers may request HRD personnel whenver they think their help is needed for
improving the working of small groups and organisational communication in varius caes.
organisation develop its diagnosis skills, coping capabilities, linkage strategic in the form
bring them to the notice of the HRD department or the top management.
Regarding organisational learning the following responsibilities can be shared by the line
managers :
alternatives.
2) Have frank and critical discussion with the employees on progress and results
of the projects
5) Record the experiences and where them both in writing with the top
Line Mangers’ main responsibilities sin relation to stress management are as follows :
1) Provide for the budget expense fro street audit. Invite HRD departments to
2) Discuss feedback of stress surveys with the employees for dealing with the
relevant issues.
Regarding HRD related research line managers can help in the following ways :
Departments.
programmes.
4) Invite HRD people to deal the problems the line manager is experiencing on
HRD aspects.
Activity B
managers for (i) their own development and (ii) the development of their
subordinates.
2) Identify the roles are able to perform well vis-à-vis employees and yourself.
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UNIT 5 TASK ANALYSIS
• Use Task Analysis for improving performance of individual employees and terms.
Structure
characterized by two models : the British model and the American model. The British
model has emphasized analysis in terms of specific activities for which the job holder is
held responsible whereas the American model has included an emphasis on the
competencies needed for job. With both models the analysis is usually carried out by
management with the help of experts, and in other respects as well the two models are
quire similar. Both have been found to be useful in analyzing semi-skilled and skilled
work.
It is becoming obvious, however, that the traditional approach to task analysis is not
suitable for the increasingly complex reality or organisational work. In particular, this
• Managerial jobs that are more complex than those previously subjected to analysis.;
• Group or team tasks, which are increasingly emerging as a way of organising work in
industries.
What is needed in order to address the more complex jobs that characterise today’s
by this process.
This definition, which is based on the concept of task suggested by the Tavistock School,
job exists within a particular organisation, which has its own mission,
philosophy, orientation, and goals. For the purposive task analysis and this
2) The job should be broker down into specific activities perform and expected
goals.
identified.
6) The discrepancies between perceived and actual performance and between
indemnified.
On the basis of the guidelines sated above, we can say that task analysis involves the
following steps :
1) Contextual analysis ;
2) Activity analysis;
3) Task delineation;
4) Competency analysis
6) Discrepancy analysis
The type of Task Analysis suggested here may be useful to the organisation and the
analysis can also help an organisation to place people in jobs in which they
e) Job enrichment
effectiveness)
b) Performance counselling
c) Training
It is essential to know the mission, orientation, and goals of the organisation of which the
job is a part. An understanding of the organisational context also heaps in clarifying the
general orientation of the job. For example, the mission of a hospital may be defined as
providing effective medical care and related support to the patients wishing to use the
hospital. The term “related support: may be an important dimension of the mission of the
hospital it may imply that the jobs of the doctors and nurses also need to include
without the development of this understanding, the observes may not “see” activates
Those who undertake task analysis must first develop an understanding of the
organisation’s basic business how it markets it products or services and to whom and its
and customers, and its status in its field. Sometimes an organisation’s mission exits in
written and published form. Regardless of whether a formal mission statement exits,
those responsible for task analysis should summarize the mission in a one sentnece
satement and should keep this statement handy throughout the process of task analysis.
The organisation’s broad goals or objectives also must be identified. These goals may or
may not be a part of the mission statement. A sampling of employees may be asked to
state these goals, and then these various statements may be compared with any goal
statements that exists in formal documents. This exercise is also helpful in terms of
testing whether the employees know the organisation’s formally stated goals or whether
the goals have changed since they were originally stated in documents.
The last phase of contextual analysis, an optional one, is to identify the main tasks of the
organisation. Again, groups of employees may be asked to identify the tasks that pertain
to each goal and to identify the jobs mainly responsible for these takes. These employee
statements then may be compiled and discussed. Such an exercise is also useful in
The second steps is activity analysis. The successful completion of this step is dependent
characteristics;
cannot be observed.
3) It is descriptive. The behaviour concerned must be capable of being stated
be capable of being recorded in written form in the same way by all observers.
This is not to say that all observers will record all activities in the same way,
but that anyone reading the written record of all observers’ descriptions of an
activities might include taking the ledger from the shelf, opening the ledger, lifting a
There are three main contributors of information for activity analysis : (1) the job
incumbent, (2) those who interact with the job incumbent (called “role-set
members”), and (3) outside experts. The set-set members include the incumbent’s
superior, subordinates, colleagues, and in some cases others who interact with the
incumbent (for example patients and their relative in the case of a nurse as job
incumbent). The outside experts may be takes analysts, educators, specialists in the
These three sets of contributors can produce a great deal of usable information based
on their observations, their reports of the activities that the job incumbent actually
completes, and their assessments of activities than the job incumbent is or should be
expected to complete. The role-set members or experts, for example, may be asked to
obese the ob incumbent and write their observations in some systematic way (every
five or ten minutes for example). In addition, they may be asked to write their
expectations regarding activities that the job incumbent probably performs or should
perform, even through they may not have observed any of these activities. A doctor,
for instance, might write that he or she expects or would expect a nurse to monitor
patients and notify the doctor when any patient needs immediate attention. The job
incumbent can also wire a report of activates actually performed and any additional
ones that he or she expects toper form in the jobs in the future.
Several methods can be used to prepare a comprehensive list of activities. The most
commonly used methods age interviews, diaries long books, and questionnaires.
1) Interviews: The interview is the most widely used and useful method of
to ask specially what the job incumbent did on a particular day. Because
so that actual activities are revealed. For example, when interveiwed about what
a nurse does, a set-set member might say, “well, she takes care of patients.” It
then becomes necessary to takes how the nurse takes care of patients – what she
actually does. For this reason interviews required patience on the parts of the
the concept of an activity, and hoe or her answers become more pertinent and
2) Diaries : A diary is a set of detailed notes that a job incumbent keeps about the
work-related activates that he or she performs during the work day. Before
assigning the task of keeping such a diary, it is a good idea to meet with the job
3) Log Books : A log book is a record that someone else keeps while observing job
incumbent. Again, it may be useful to discuss the potential contents of the log
with the person keeping it. Providing a combination of instructions and example
The Product
After one or more of the suggested methods has been used for activity analysis the
product will be a long list of activities. At this point ht enlist is comprehensive and
his not been subjected to any kind of sorting; it includes a number of essentially
redundant items as well as both highly specific and less specific items. Table 2is an,
example of such a list for the position of district health officer in a province of
Indonesia.
Table –1
The purpose of the activity-analysis diary is to help you keep notes about all of your
work-related activates. Maintain the diary for four weeks; every work day for the
first week, then every other work day for the second week, and then every third work
Write a description of each work-related activity you perform during the day, and
next to the description note the starting time. Be specific and use verbs. The
following is an example.
Figure –1 : Activity analysis Diary (Instruction and Example)
Activity Analysis
Monday, January 16
9.00 Discussion with a subordinate who came tom office with a request to
Table – 2
1) Elicits information on health status, resources, and priorities from various health
they face.
4) Provides department heads with information during the monthly meeting of the
district administration, briefing those attending about the progress and plans of
5) Meets with the section heads weekly and discuses with them the outcome of the
district meetings.
7) Meets once a month with the managers of the district health clinks to review their
progress.
8) Studies requests from the district leader and selects issues requiring attention.
9) Review work conditions of the staffs at the district and health clinic levels and
11) Meets with departmental heads to solicit their cooperation and help.
12) Visits health clinics periodically to review their work and to provide their staff
with guidance.
13) Meets with all sections and subsections once a month to develop an
16) Consults with the district leader and the selection heads about problems and
prepares action plans for solving these problems (including specific activities,
17) Guides staff members on matters relating to their jobs, families, and personal
lives.
19) Writes action plans (covering budget, personnel, equipment, location, and time
20) Visits health clinics whenever there is a need and solves whatever problems exits.
23) Studies reports received from health clinics in order to access progress and
identify problems.
implementation.
26) Meets with the section heads to discuss and finalise priorities and budget
allocation.
27) In collaboration with the section heads, prepare the monitoring system for
programme implementation.
28) Meets with section heads to respond to their needs and to discuss and sole the
29) Consults with health clinic mangers and finalizes priorities an budget allocations.
30) Meets periodically with staff members to provide information to encourage them
to share information.
31) Talks with the selecting heads about their programmes and factors that facilitate
33) When necessary, helps involving problems that exist between or among the
section heads.
34) Obtains detailed budget proposal from the health clinics and sections.
35) Rewards the staff members for good work and encores their future work.
39) Collects data from communities and sections whenever they are needed to address
42) Acts on or responds to the issues raised in the Legislature regarding health maters.
44) Discusses with section heads the pea of programme implementation and any
problems encountered.
45) Discusses the budget with the district leader
After activity analysis has been completed, the next step is to group the activities into
tasks and to name these tasks. This process, known as task delineation, involves
subjective decision making and should be undertaken only by people who know and
There is no rule regarding the number of takes to be delineated. However, there should
not be so few that one cannot review them and form a clear picture of a job. Similarly,
there should not be so many that the differences among activities is not readily apparent
and that their numbers become cumbersome for performance appraisal and other
purposes.
The tasks should be balances in terms of the number of activities each comprises. If one
task has too many actives, it needs to be divided into two or more tasks. For example,
when delineating a nurse’s takes one should not call “patient care” a task because too
many activities are covered by this term. Instead, patient care should be broken down
into care requiring special skills, crew requiring fee skills (such as making the patient’s
bed), and socio-psychological care and support. After the tasks have been delineated, it is
a good idea to rate the importance of each to the job and to assess the percentage of time
Exercise 1
Go through the list of activities presented in Table –2, and group them into specific tasks.
1) …………………………………………………………………………………………
2) …………………………………………………………………………………………
3) …………………………………………………………………………………………
4) …………………………………………………………………………………………
5) …………………………………………………………………………………………
6) …………………………………………………………………………………………
7) …………………………………………………………………………………………
8) …………………………………………………………………………………………
9) …………………………………………………………………………………………
10) …………………………………………………………………………………………
Note : The following tasks were derived from the activities listed in Table –2. The
numbers in parentheses following each ask correspond to the item numbers n Table –2
A job incumbent needs different types and levels of competencies in order to perform job
well. Competency analysis helps in identifying the competencies that are necessary for
Competencies can be divided into five main types; knowledge, skills, abilities,
orientation, and experience. Of these five types, orientation may requiem some
explanation. Orientation is a general attitude reflecting the values of the job holder. For
example, in the case of a nurse, respect for the patient may be deemed to be an important
work in matter concerning health, the district heat manager need to see the community
and its various health agencies as resources. He or she needs to respect and be willing to
use community traditions and customs that promote good health. In addition, the district
health manger should be proactive in identifying and seeking community resources that
can be harnessed for pormoting health programmes. He or she should be oriented toward
innovating and experimentation in solving problems and should encourage the doctors
and other staff members in the district health clinics and hospitals to be similarly
subordinates, including those on staff at the district health clinics and hospitals. Finally,
the district health officer should be willing to learn and experiment in this position.
Another process that may be completed is the identification of the job incumbent’s
present level of echo identified competency. A five-point sale is recommended for this
purpose. The same group that establishes competencies –with the possible exclusion of
the job incumbent, depending on his or her level of insight – may make this assessment.
5.6 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
The main purpose of performance analysis is to evaluate the impact of a job – how
effective it is being done or has been done. This step consists of assessing how well the
job incumbent has performed the tasks for which he or she is responsible.
The effectiveness of a task can be measured in terms of its outcome, or the end results, as
well as in terms of its process, or how it is performed. Hard data may be gather
indicating both kinds of effectiveness. For example, one can evaluate the task of taking
customer orders with regard to the number of orders taken (outcome) as well as with
regard to the time spent on the task or the number of mistakes made (process).
For each task it is advisable to identify only a few indicators of effectiveness one or two
for outcome effectiveness and one or two for process effectiveness. It is important to
keep in mind that indicators must be specific, concrete, and measurable. Developing hem
is a difficult and creative task and should be undertaken only by people who have
extensive knowledge of and insight into the job. A group consisting of the job
incumbent, the role-set members, and experts may brainstorm in order to identify a
result of the previous five steps. For example, discrepancies may exist between activities
reported by the job incumbent and those reported by the set-set members, between
activates reported and those observed or expected, between the importance of a task and
the time spent completing, it between needed companies and existing competencies, and
so on. These gaps may indicted a need for certain remedial measures, such as redefining
the set, training additional work planning, deleting, increased monitoring or counselling.
It is a good ideal to check periodically for discrepancies between the job definition as
reflected in the delineated tasks and actual job performance. Information about
• The job incumbent any monitor the time spent on each activity;
• The role-set members any analyse the importance attributed to various tasks viruses
• Trained observers may observe the job incumbent for a few days.
Discrepancies between desired activities or tasks and actual performance may then be
Task analysis as briefly descried in this unit can be used as supervisory tool, to improve
functioning of a unit. Some uses of Task Analysis have already been suggested. A few
the present level of these companies in the employees concerned will hip in
level.
Information about the importance of the various tasks may also help in
discrepancy between the importance of a task and the time spent on it may
given some useful information. One reason for not spending enough time on a
task may be lack of competency required to do the task. Such information may
the various tasks. Some of these indicators can be used in designing a format
activities, or importance of the tasks and time spent on them, may indicate the
among various jobs in work unit. The concerned employees may work in a
group with the supervisor in redistribution of tasks, so that each employee can
Activity A
After going through this unit prepare a list of activates of your job, and then group them
into tasks. If you can check your activity analysis and task delineation with your
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Activity B
Identify the competency requirements for each of your tasks with the help of your
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5.9 FURTHER READINGS
Anne et all’s Tasks Analysis (London : Her Majesty’s stationery office, 1971) is a good
example of the British Model of task analysis, whereas the American model can be
commission in 1973.
The present unit has been adapted from Day Parsec’s “Task Analysis for Human
Objectives
orientation and the external factors in the organisation role and the organisational
climate.
• Analyse your role to identify strong and weak motivational aspects of your role in
your organisation.
• Develop ideas of improving weak aspect of your role, and ideas for helping those
Structure
In one unit of a plant, a supervisor, while review his section gave the following inputs to
the manager : He complimented the worker Joseph by saying – his motivation was a
high; he took a great deal to interest in his work whenever any difficulty arose, he tried
various ways of solving it, or he went to someone who could give him help he was
learning new techniques, aniseed to have improved his output; he was always occupied
and seemed to be sluggishly did not learn, he complained morel went to the supervisor
with his problems; did no seem to enjoy and neglected his work land was seen socializing
When the same workers worked in another unit their supervisor had different reports to
make. According to him, Raja’s motivation was quite different from Joseph’s He had
high affiliation motion he enjoyed making friends and working with friends. When he
was put in a small group in which most of his friends were working, his output inresed,
and he seemed to enjoy his work. On he other hand, Joseph worked very well when he
was given a challenging assignment. He did not, however, get along very well with
examining these two meaning more carefully, it can be seen that the first concept of
been used with both meaning in management literature and that has created some
confusion. We shall deal with both in this unit. Let us first take the concept of work
If people are engaged in work which their find challenging and worthwhile (being
relevant to social needs and contribute to social development) they feel proud to be
associated with such work. One function of management is to create such a sense of
challenge and worthwhile ness in the work people are engaged in. Similarly, work
should be regarded as a joy, and not drudgery. If people determine their own objectives,
expericne that what they do is seen as significant by concerned people, and have an
opportunity to work in collaboration on difficult but significant tasks, they enjoy work.
The feeling of growth comes when the work becomes increasingly more challenging and
socially relevant, and people are required to stretch themselves to cope with such positive
challenges. When people have opportunities to learn new techniques, acquire new skills,
André vie there previous understanding, they may experience growth. If work ceases to
Exercise1 : Before reading further, answer the questionnaire given in this exercise.
In each of the following sets of three statements, check the one (a, b, or c) that most
accurately describes your own experience in your organisational role. You must choose
peripheral here
role.
c) I have the opportunity to have some effect on the large society in my role.
20. a) When people brings problems to me I tend to ask them to work them
out themselves.
Pride, joy and sense of growth, basic element soft work motivation, are related to the
work an employee does. It has been found that an employee may have low motivation
(PEG) in one organization working on a job, and may develop high motivation on the
same or similar job in another organization. In other words, a role or job in one
great advantage. The payoff may be very high because instead of attempting to motivate
individuals, an attempt is met motivate roles, and because large number of employees can
is designed. It is the integration of the two (the person and the set) that ensures the
person’s effectiveness in the organisation. If the role does not allow him to use his
competence and if he constantly feels frustrated in the role, his effectiveness is likely to
be low. He integration of the person and the roles comes abut when the role is able to
fulfil the needs of the individual, and when the individual is able to contribute to the
evolution of the role. The more we move from role, the more we from the role taking
(responding to the expectations by various other persons to role making 9taking initiative
in designing the role more creatively in a way that the various expectations from others as
well as the role occupant are integrated), the more the set is like to be effective.
Effectiveness of a person in any organisaiton therefore, may depend on his own potential
effectiveness, the potential effectiveness of the role and the organizational climate. The
organization. Role efficacy can be seen as the psychological factor underlying role
Role efficacy has several aspects. The more these aspects are present in a role, the higher
the effect of that role is likely to be. These aspects can be classified into three groups or
dimensions. One dimension of role efficacy is called role making three groups or
dimensions. One dimension of role efficacy is called role making contrasted with role
taking. The first is an active attitude toward the role (to define and make the role as one
likes), whereas the second is a passive attitude (mainly responding to other expectations).
The aspects in the second dimension are concerned with increasing the power of the role,
making it more important. This can be called role cantering which can be contrasted with
role entering (accepting the role as given, and reconciling oneself to its present
importance or unimportance). The third dimension is called role linking (extending the
relationship of the role with other roles and groups), contrasted with role shrinking
called self-role integration. The self of the person and the role get
integrated through the possibility of a person’s use of his special
very well in the new role, is efficacy was not as high as it was in
the previous job. Later when the role was redesigned to enable
him to use his rare skills, his efficacy went up. All of us want that
our special strengths are used in the role so that it may be possible
distance between the self and the role, role efficacy is likely tube
low.
processing papers. The result were amazing. Not only did the
markedly better than its previous level and better than performance
became markedly better than its previous level and better than
help him to have a high role efficacy. If he feel that his role does
not allow any time or opportunity to be creative, his efficacy will
be low.
The general tendency to confront the problems to find relevant solutions contributes to
efficacy. When people facing interpersonal problems sit down, talk about these
problems, and search solutins, their efficacy is like to be higher compared with situations
in which they either deny such problems or refer these to their higher officers.
roles are peripheral, i.e., they are not much important, their
and attendants had very high motivation when they joined the
hospital. And coming from nearby villages, they would bring their
friends and relative to proudly show the place. After few months,
they neglected work, sat in groups gossiping and not caring about
about the perceived importance of their role; they felt that their
the role efficacy is like to be. One factor which may make roles in
primarily because they feel that they are more opportunity to grow
taking a big financial cut in his salary mainly because he felt that
stagnating in the role and does not get any opportunity to grow is
learning, the roles of the staff pose problems of low efficacy. The
plan the growth of such people in the roles are able to have higher
opportunity for people to receive and give help also increases role
get help from some source in the organisation whenever they have
such a need, they are likely to have higher role efficacy. On the
asked for, or that the respondents are hostile. Role efficacy will be
from the private sector to the public sector at the top level, mainly
large interest. Roles in which people feel that what they age doing
In summary, the following are then ten aspects of the role efficacy under three
dimensions
Dimension 1 : Role making (Contracted with role taking)
role demands.
6) Influence (vs. . powerlessness) ; Feeling that one occupying a role can make
7) Growth (vs. stagnation) : Feeling that one occupying a role grows and learn in
the role.
8) Inter-role linkage (vs. isolation ) : Linkage of ones role with other roles.
9) Helping Relationship (vs. hostility) : Giving and receiving help amongst roles.
10) Super ordiantion (vs. deprivation) : Linkage if one’s role with lire entity/case
Exercise 1
Now using the following scoring key, score your responses on the questionnaire, and find
out your royal scores (adding scores on two items) for each aspect of role efficacy. See
on which you are high or low, The range is from +4 to -2. A score of 1 or blue will
Centrality 1 +2 +1 -1 11 +2 +1 -1
Integration 2 +1 -1 +2 12 -1 +2 +1
Proactivity 3 -1 +1 +2 13 -1 +2 +1
Creativity 4 +1 +2 -1 14 +1 +2 -1
Inter-role 5 -1 +2 +1 15 +2 +1
Linkage 6 +1 +2 -1 16 -1 +2 -1
Helping
Relationship
Super 7 -1 +2 +1 17 +1 +2 -1
ordiantion
Influence 8 +1 -1 -1 18 +2 +1 +1-
Growth 9 +1 -1 +1 19 +2 +1 -1
Confrontation 10 -1 +2 +2 20 -1 -1 -2
Increasing Role Efficacy
One can plan to increase role efficacy of one’s own role, as well as those of one’s
employees. Some practical suggestions, based on work in some organization, are given
assets.
Productivity
1) Minimize supervisor of employees, and encourage them to ask for your help
3) Listen to the employees, give respect to their view, and use thee wherever
possible
2) Create a climate which encourage pole to generate ideal without fear of being
cruised.
Confrontation
2) Support the action taken by the employee if it is within the rules and
procedures
3) Give enough freedom to each employee to set his objectives and decide ways
of achieving them
Influence
Growth
2) Do not snub the employees for their shortcomings but cooperate to improve
them
2) Encourage employees to solve problems by working with their peer-level (and not
Helping
Super ordination
1) Help employees to understand and appreciate the contribute of their role to the
society.
2) Help the employees linked (and see the linkage) of objectives of their roles
3) Encourage them to include in their roles what may be useful for a large
section.
Let us again take the examples of Joseph and Raju given in the opening para of this unit.
The two basic questions are : why does Joseph work harder than Raju ? Why does Raju
socialist more than Joseph ? The answer to the first question is partly contained in the
second question. Raju does not work as hard as Joseph perhaps because he has a higher
psychological need (motivation) for socialization. If the job can provide the opportunity
to Raju to satisfy his need for socialization, may be he would work harder (infact, in the
example cited, the second supervisor did report this about Raju). Joseph may work hard
because he has high need for competition and meeting the challenge.
and power. The importune of atonement motive for entreprensuhip and marking was
amply demonstrated. Similarly, power motivation, among other things has been found to
be critical for effective mangers and organizational leaders. While achievement and
affiliation motives were shown to be “neat” variables, power motive was fond to be a
complex one ; it contained both an urge to control others and urge to make impact.
These were called personalized power and need to control others (person lied power0, he
This also seems to be one important need or motive. The so called socialized dimension
of seems to be a separate need motive, that is reflected in the concern to do something for
others. This need has been seen as important for social development and has been called
extension motile.
One more motive or need, so far neglected, but quite relevant for organisational
However, recently interest has been aroused in the importance of dependency in the
development of mangers, and this need is reflected in the mentoring process discussed in
Thus we have six main needs or motives, relevant for understanding the dynamics of
needed.
the society.
“approval” relationship.
The above motives may be used in explaining he behaviour of an employee. Hover, one
more aspect deserves attention. Each of these motives may have two dimensions :
approach and avoidance. Approach aspics indicates that the person acts according to a
need with “hope”: of achieving something. The concept of avoidance is based on “feat”
and therefore the motive is to avoid that feat. In achievement motive, “feat of failure”
has been found as one of this important component distinct form “hope of success”. A
lot of research has been den on fear of failure, which (as an avoidance behaviour) has
been found to be dysfunctional, although being a part of the achievement motile. For
example, hope of success vs. fear of failure (approach vs. avoidance) was found to be
motivation, but with high component of far of failure, failed to start new business,
contrasted with those who had high component of hope of success. This concept
Table briefly suggest the approach and avoidance dimensions of each motive, based
analysed not only in terms of the various motives, but also from the angle of positive
that in organisations all the six motives have their legitimate place, and contribute to the
effectiveness of an employee.
Table 1
An employee’s effectiveness from the point of view of motivation can be defied two
ways. We may see to what extent he has a particular motivation. As already mentioned
all the six motives are relevant for an employees. If he is deficient in any one, his
also depend on the extent of avoidance behaviour of a particular motivation. The motive,
however strong it may be, made ineffective by high avoidance behavior. His high score
on the motive may indicate his potential for his effectiveness, but large share of
avoidance items in the total score may reduce his actual effectiveness. Scores on an
instrument (MAO-B) indicate this kind of effectiveness, MAO-B can be used for self
can examine their scores and can prepare a plan to reduce the avoidance dimension of a
motive (if they feel concerned) by examining the related items in the instrument, and
taking steps to reduce that behaviour. It has been found useful in counselling MAO (BO
cane filled for counselee, and then the former can help the later in planning improvement
ofbehaviour.
In a training programme the participants can look at their profiles, can request feedback
from other participants, and can discuss in triads ways of increasing effectiveness
There is no standard answer to the question as to how into increase work motivation of
employees, especially how to motive those who seem to lose intere3st and initiative.
and understanding of motivation does provide some general guidelines for action
programmes.
Motivation results form interaction of the individual with the organisation through his
role. So all the three elements are important for planning the mangement of motivation –
HRD systems have grate relevance to employees motivation. Based on research and
which gradually become more challenging, his motivation and capability for
graduated erase of challenges. Goal setting for different KPAs should keep
this in mind.
Career Systems
motivation
If is extremely important that the organization pays attention to its promotion
and not on the basis of competence, potential for higher responsibility, and merit,
the general climate in the organisation will reduce work motivation. In such a
climate motivation to do good work is low, and people try to find the bases on
which promotions are made, work towards those criteria (smart appearance, good
4) Promoting motivates only when the new job touch a person is promoted
Some companies make a mistake in thinking that promotion per se may motivate
people. If after promotion, the person continues to do what he was doing before,
and does not have any new challenge, his motivation after some time will go
down. In one public sector company several competent bright your people who
had been given quick promotions felt highly satisfied for some time, but after the
initial euphoria of getting promotion wore off, they felt dissatisfied because the
new jobs wee not more challenging than the previous ones. New responsibilities
and challenges should be built into the new jobs., if promoting is to be used as a
motivator. Otherwise, people feel cheated that they have been given more salary
and individual also has motivations patterns. Some needs are stronger in him
individual has low achievement motivation, and if this concerns him, and he
wants to raise his level of achievement this can be done. It may be useful to
profile, and then, special programmes can be arranged to help them raise the
Work Systems
6 Deficit needs 9hygiens) if not attended to, are likely to affect work
motivating.
Attention need to be paid to hygiene factors like salary, security, company policy,
working conditions and general atmosphere in the units/units. If these are unsatisfactory,
the necessary work on razing the level of motivation cannot be done. These are like
diseases. Nutrition is very important for good health of a person. However, unless the
bacteria affecting his health are eliminated from the atmosphere, he is not likely to
made in them.
7) Work motivation is partly in proportion to the challenge the job provides to the
individual.
Some of the factors Herbert has suggested as motivators are very important for
work motivations. Challenge in the job is alone such factor. If a job does not provide
enough challenge to the individual, his motivation will be low. If a feeling of lack of
challenge seems to be prevailing, it may be useful to examine the job intent, and do
something to build more challenge in the job, may be by delegation of some important
functions which the individual may perceive as valuable. Even a helper or a gardener
feels motivated if he is given a specific results. Enough autonomy with adequate support
and a demand for responsibility combine to increase motivation. Each job may be
If people feel that what they do in the job helps them to learn new things, and contributes
to their development, their motivation will be high, Each job should be analysed from this
point of view. Whelan initial reaches a stage where he may filth he is only repeating
himself, the possibiliies of job rotating to help him learn a new job may be explored. OF
course, this principle has some limitations, and eerie job cannot provide learning
The importance of his job may be communicated to the employee and he may be
helped to see how his job is useful for the selection / department, for the organisation, for
a larger section of the community, the profession and the society or for the nation. An
employees’ perception of the context of his job in terms of its contribution to a large goal
Cultural Systems
that seem to dominate the climate, and therefore are bang generated in the
organisation.
climate. The profiles thus prepared can be used as an important intervention for
several groups to discuss whether they are satisfied with that profile, and if not,
what can be done to bring about change. This can be used as one of the initial
interventions.
11) More open communication in an organisation tends to increase work motivation.
various levels concerned, and of difficulties and problems, and help reqired from below
to the top. It also includes supportive feedback from he boss about performance. Such
In the organization competence in the job and good work should be recognised. If
people perceive such recognition, the level of motivation rise, various mangers
Recognition should be geneuine, and given only when an individual deserves it.
The role of reward and punishment is very crucial in work motivation. Reward
promoting, etc. These are called positive reinforces. Punishment in a wider sense
more positive reinforcement take more initiative and responsibility, and those
competence should be rewards, so that people may realise that competence does
not go unnoticed.
Self-renewal System
what motivations they will reinforce. This may help undesigning systems for reinforcing
relevant motivations for organsiational effectiveness –achievement, power,extention. For
example, the information control system which provides power, extension. For example,
the information control system which provides relevant information to tee person who
has to take decisions will reinforce control motivation. Or, the promotin system which
system requiring people form various decameters or sections or levels to meet and
Set efficacy (discussed above in 6.2) has several aspects e.g. the individual’s
feeling of his role being central in the organization, self-role integration, possibilities for
the individual to take initiative and be creative linkage of the role with other rollers in the
work on larger goals beneficial to others, opportunity of growth, etc. It may be useful to
measure role efficacy of several roles in the organisation, and take steps to raise it.
Activity A
Identify the most characteristic and lest characterise motivation of your department’s or
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Activity B
Administrator the role efficacy scale is given in beginning of this unit to your
subordinates. Identify the dimensions where they score low. Discuss with them the
department.
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6.6 FURTHER READINGS
Process (Rabat, 1988) by Day Pareek discuss theories of work motivations, findings of
Indian studies and same propositions to develop motivations, Approach and avoidance
Achievement (Free Press (1969) by D. C> McClelland, D. C. Winter. The book cantinas
reported the importance of power motive, and have briefly narrated the approach to
develop power motive, in “Power is the great motivator” Harvard Business Review,
Objectives
Structure
Before starting on this unit complete the “Supervisor Styles Survey” (SSS) given below.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to heap you examine your supervisor styles.
Before are given 14 items. Each item contrail three alternative statement of belief,
orientation, and /or behaviour, rate the three alternative (a, b, C0 in each item, and
distribute 6 points amongst them to indicate the extent to which they came close to your
own belief, or correctly describe you orientation or behavior. Give the maximum marks
or points (say, 6 5 or 4) to the item that best describes your belief or behavior (give the
remaining points to the rest of the two items in such a ways they again describe your
belief or behaviour. Thus in any set you can give all the 6 point to one item if that is the
best description of you and the other two (they get zero ech0 do not characterize you at
all. OR you may give 5 points to the best describing item and 1 to another item which
2, 1`,or 2, 2, 2,etc.
Answer all the items. Your genuine and frank responses will hip you to gain insight into
your styles.
The instrument is meant for your personal use.
b) My employees tend to avoid work unless they are closely supervised. So, I
work.
c) My subordinates are capable of working on their own. So, I let them work
b) A good leader keeps a close eye on the employees, who should know that
they are being closely observed. Otherwise they tend to avoid work.
c) A good leader should act with his staff as a father and should tell them what
subordinates.
b) One need not be over concerned about organisational goals and employee
needs. Every one should take are of himself. I prefer going at least a part of
4) a) Always thin in terms of the long term interest and future of the organization.
future.
b) I prefer to thin mostly in terms of immediate tasks and short term goals,
need it.
c) Now-a-days people seem to run to their bozos for every small problem. I
irrigated easily
b) I tend to tolerate the mistakes of my subordinates. Quiet often end up
7) a) In a conflict situating I prefer to call the parties together and help them
solve the problems so that they understand each other better, learn to resole
on why is right and who is wrong. I do tell them what I think is theist best.
8) a) I tend to make most decisions myself, and prefer to inform only those who
need to know.
c) while assigning tasks I ensure that they match the competencies of the
11) a) I prefer to share new information only with a select few especially with
b) I do not thin there is any need to share nay information about the external
policies, plans etc., with my employees. This keeps them well prepared for
the changes.
b) I shrew information about any changes in company polices, future plans etc.
only with a few my employees. This keeps them well prepared for the
changes.
c) I prefer not so share any information I get about the company, its policies,
13) My eldership style inspired my employees. I create conditions so that they enjoy
b) I do my job ell, and I expect the same form my employees, I do not tolerate
14) a) I permit only some of my employees to take initiative and work on their
own. There is no point giving freedom to everyone in the team some are
develop.
7.1 THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SUEPRVISON
Supervisions the basic managerial faction. It is the process of facilitating and monitoring
the growth of the individual and the team. This function has evolved over
The traditional concept of supervision was to ensure that the tasks were done, as planned
supervision.
on the belief that the sense of responsibly increase with the increase in
responsibly and not much developed, consequently the main role of the
his/her employees, supervision has to be close and detailed, and very little
Developmental supervision does not believe in this. It is based on the belief that although
the level of responsibility may, and does increase with the increase of
managerial level (with the higher level competencies invovled0 the nose of
sense and utilise it for acting. If the sense of responsibility is less developed
organisational task and development of employees and teams. The main focus of
be the focus of HRD (or training). Developmental supervision does not make this sharp
distinction. Its focus is both task accomplishment and employee development because
they reinforce each ether, and one cannot be done without paying attention to the other.
individual employee. Team is treated form the point of view of the individual. A
traditional supervisor believes that if individual employees are being properly guided and
monitoered, the team (consisting of tee employees) will also work effectively.
Developmental supervision treats them as distinct units needing separate attention. Good
initials performance may not ensure effective team work. A team has its own dynamics.
term,because he believes that an effective team can help its members raise their levels of
contribution.
instructions to them to achieve the fixed goals, a developmental supervisor sees his main
task, and removing difficulties which are likely to slow down the pace of progress on the
tasks. A developmental supervisor believes that his employees are both motivated and
competent to do their share of work, and haw own role is to facility their work. Income
cases, even allocation of individual responsibilities, work planning (who can take leave
when, and who will substitute the employees on leave etc.) is let to the team of
employees; the supervisor review with them progress, and then plans what he himself can
The responsibility of the developmental supervisor is even higher and more difficult that
that of thee traditional supervisor. No supervisor can delegate the main functions of
Although all supervisors are unique in some way, there are some common supervisory
styles. A manager may use more than one of these styles depending on the situation .
The earliest suggestion was made by Lipid and White, regarding two types of leaders:
authoritarian and democratic. The authoritarian leader determines all policies and
strategies, decides on the composition and tasks of the work tam, is personal in giving
praise and criticism, and maintains some personal distance from employees. IN contrast,
the democratic leader ensures that policies and strategies are determined by the group,
gives technical advice whenever the group needs it, allows freedom to group members to
choose their work teams, tried to be objective in providing rewards and punishments, and
participates in discussions.
When these tow styles of management were compared in experimental studies, it was
found that authoritarians produced : (a) a greater quantity of work, (b) a greater amount
of aggressiveness toward the leader,(c) less originality of work, (d0 less work motivation,
(e) more dependence, (f) less group feeling, and (g) more suppressed discontent.
A task oriented supervisor emphasizes the task, often believes that ends are more
important than means and thinks that employees need to be supervised closely in order to
accomplices their tasks. This type of supervisor becomes upset when tasks are not
accomplished. The concern for task is so high that the human aspect is likely to be
difficulty in human relations and may appear to be a “tough” person. A task oriented
supervisor may frequently question or remind subordinates about there task, warn them
negative attitudes about their work and their supervisor. They may develop shortcuts
needs and welfare promotes both the quantity and quality of work. This concern may be
reflected in attempts to keep subordinates in good honour and in frequent inquires about
their problems (even those unrelated to work). In the extreme, this type of supervision
also leads to inefficiency. Subordinates may perceive this type of supervisor as too
The task-oriented and employee-oriented styles may not be present in pure forms, and
one manager may demonstrate combination of the two styles. The effectiveness of the
styles also may depend on factors such as the nature of task or denature of the
subordinate.
Another way of looking at supervisory and leadership styles has been used n various
countries with satisfactory results. In this concept, leadership or supervisory styles stem
Benevolent Supervisor : This types protects subordinates, continually tells them what
they should and should not do, and comes to their rescue whenever needed. Such
supervisor career to subordinates needs for security and generally are linked by their
employees. They’re effective as long as they are physically present. In their absence,
workers may experience a lack of direction and motivation. Such supervisor tend to
Finding mistakes, criticizing subordinates, and making them feel incumbent are
them to set broad goals, and allows them to work on their own. Guidance is provided
only when requested by subordinates. Competent workers who have this kind of
supervision are lily to feel confident about their work. They are free to work both
Institutional Supervisor
type is involved in developing the department or unit. Such supervisors are also called
institution builders, because they ensure the growth and developmental of their units and
subordinates by incorporating processes that help people give their best and to grow with
institutional supervisors.
3) They are willing to sacrifice some of their own self-interest for the welfare
of the organization.
5) They have a low need for affiliation, a high need to influence others or
Such supervisors often aim a developmental styles but are flexible in their use of styles.
They are likely to create highly motivating work environments in their organizations.
Exercise B
Transfer the various points from the SSQ you answered in the beginning of this unit, to
the following table. Total each column which will give your scores on the three
supervisory styles discussed above. The total of all the three totals should be 84,using
this as the maximum score, convert each styles score into a percentage, and write these
figures in the last row of the table. The higher the score, stronger is that style. The high
rest o the three score will show your “dominant” styles, and the next to the dominate
1 a b c
2 c b a
3 a c b
4 a c b
5 a c b
6 b a c
7 c b a
8 b a c
9 c b a
10 c b a
11 a b c
12 b c a
13 c b a
14 a c b
Total - - -
% Divide by 84 and - - -
multiply by 100
depends on the employees, the nature of the task, and various other factors. If a new
employee does not know much about the work, a benevolent supervisor is helpful; a
bewilderment, On the other hand, a capable employee may feel most comfortable with
the developmental styles of supervising and resent a benevolent supervisor who
Employees with low self discipline probably could be developed best by critical
Supervisory effectiveness depends on how well they use power. It may be useful to
As already stated the main function of a supervisor is to influence the employees both to
achieve the organisational goals and to help the employees develop and become effective.
Different supervisors use influence in different ways. One way to understand the use of
power by supervisors endangers is to analyse the bases of power which they employ.
Mangers can use one or more of the 8 base of power suggested in table 1.
Table 1
Reflected Power is the power a person derives from the closeness to a powerful person.
For example, the secretary of the chairman of a company his power by being closeness to
senior managers. Such power need not be only because of their status giving them special
priviledges, but also because of the opportunities they have of learning form the powerful
Authority is the power given in the status or role which a person occupies in a system.
Every role has relevant authority with it. In some cases such authority is defined in clear
terms as in an organisation, while in some other cases the authority may be given by the
tradition, as in the case of the father’s position in a family. When a person uses the
Coercive power is the power used because of the capability or tendency a supervisor has
to punish his employees, the employee may be or follow the instructions of supervisor
because he may be also to punish them. The concept of punishment also desired
materials. Some persons in the organisation even at a lower level use this type of power
information in the organisation. In other words, they are in a position to cause damage or
inconvenience to people.
Emotional Power : is used by people over those who are very close to them would carry
out tier wishes because of such close relationship. A mother may follow the dictates of
her son because of such emotional power the son may have over the mother. An
employee may do certain thins because of personal considerations for the boss.
Reinforcing power is exercised when a Peron (e.g. supervisor) ha the capability and
tendency to reward others (e.g. the employees) for their work. Rewards may be either
Charismatic power is the influence a personas over others because of his ability to
inspire them and move them emotionally. Charismatic power produces a temporary sense
of power in other people. It has an emotional appeal, not on the basis of personal
relationship but because of arousal, not on the basis of personal relationship but because
of arousal of basic emotions and sentiments. An inspiring supervisor may get things
done because of appeal to the emotions of people to contribute to the goals of the
organisation.
Expert Power grows out of the expertise of a person in his own field. For example, we
accept and implement what the electrician tells us about electric fittings. He wields
expert power and people general do not question him. Employees may do what the
supervisor tells them to do because they may perceive him as an expert and may therefore
act according to his wishes. Expert influxes in an organization reflects the ability of an
organization to develop such expertise and specialised skills. Expert power can generate
more maturity since all people may look to the expertise of other colleagues for guidance
Referent power is the influence a person has because of high competence. His
competence may not necessarily be out of his specific expertise, it may be a general sense
example also has an impact on people because of thee competence power of the
supervisor who influents his employees behaving in a particular way through his own
example. His employees want to be like the supervisor, and hence the terms refereed
power.
Three consideration are relevant in thirst regard,. In the first place, supervisors need to be
flexible in being able to use the various bases of power suggested above according to the
needs of the station. It may be useful to assess the situation and use the appropriate base
of power.
Secondly, the height bases may be regarded as a continuum, one end of the continuum
being reflected power and the other referent power. This is also the continuum of
maturity; use of referent power showing heir maturity. Supervisor need to move
towards the need to move towards the end represented by referent power. There more
they use the more mature biases of power the more effective they are likely to be. For
example, instead of using authority and coercive power, they may use expert and
refereeing power. The eight bases of power can be classified into two main categories –
coercive power (reflected power, authority, coercive power and emotional power) and
persuasive power (reinforcing power, chromatic power, expert power and referred
power). Effective supervisor have been found in research studies to use more persuasive
power than coercive power. They reward desirable behaviour, are seen as experts in their
own fields, inspire the employees, and set a model for example through their behavior
Thirdly, supervisors help heir employees to be more flexible enthuse of these bases of
power, and mature in the use of power, moving towards referent power. They create
conditions for others to become more powerful. Thus one of thee supervisory functions
is to empower the employees (help them to use power bases with maturity).
Enough research has been done on influencing styles. One approach classifies influence
into two categories – director infuse and indirect influence. Direct influence is defend as
the influence which limits the freedom of people being influenced, whereas indirect
classified ad direct influence which limits the freedom of people. Ordering employees
to do something is classified as direct influence which limits the freedom of people being
them to help them to take decisions is regarded as indirect influence, behavior and
rewarding as indirect influence because the former gives no freedom to the employees
whereas the latter encourages them to give ideas and generate alternatives. Similarly,
behavior, because the former would discourage and employee to do certain things and
thereby would limit his freedom, whereas the latter (rewards) encourages an employee
take initiative and take risks. Researches have shown that use of direct influence
behaviour lads to low initiative, low creativity dependency, low activity level, low
interpersonal trust, and lower indices of effectiveness and mental health. On the other
influence produces results when the task is simple and repetitive and o creativity or
complex decision making are involved. Indirect influence is very effective in situations
innovative, their own style needs to be more of indirect influence style. In other
words, they need to use their power to empower others, to increase their initiative
and autonomy and to help their employees to take initiative and personal
The purpose of supervisory control is entire that results are achieved according to
the planned scheduled (time, quanity, quality, use of input etc.). The word
control refers to the process and result of work (using coordinated machinist to
check the progress and outcome of work against pre-determined norms, and
taking corrective acting), and not to people (directing and commanding them).
monitoring the level of periodical progress, and taking corrective action in case of
norms is the performance appraisal system. The supervisor helps each employee
concerned employees. Thus the norms are a joint decision, with the commitment
of all concerned. Usually individual norms are established in the contest of the
refer to cost (rupee cost per unit produce, cost per unit sold) revenue rupee sales,
per capital sales material usage (amount of raw material per unit resource usage
employees should sit with the supervisor, one day every week and review the
progress (as against set standards). They should analyze whey there ahs been
supervisor and the employees should sit down den decide what minimum
system can substitute personal observation through visits by the supervisor, and
diagnosing causes of the deviation, planning action, reviewing, after action has
event akin (all these to be done involving the concerned employees), and finally,
standards and /or quality, and tolerating inefficiency. The employees must know
world require involvement of the employees, and joint action on maintaining and
improving quality. First, the employees should have high concern for quality.
Approach etc.
time-bound goals.
the top team, inviting the convenor, and recognizing their contribution.
Productivity, quality of products and services, dealing with crisis etc. require strong team
by tradition team work is poor. Strong and cohesive work teams can influence the
individual employees also. So team work can also be economical means of developing
individual employees, supervisors can take several steps to develop effective work teams.
Use of Teams: If supervisors use teams in a number of situations the cultural of team
work may be strengthened. For example, whenever a special problem arises, instead of
solving the problem individually by himself, or hay a competent employee, the supervisor
may set up a special team to work out detailed actions plan. Such Task Force (especially
constituted teams to complete specific assignments) are very useful in dealing with
special issues. Task Forces are given a task to be completed within a particular period.
In constituting a Task Force, members are taken from the groups concerned with the
problem. For example, if a supervisor in textile mill may discover some spots on the
to investigate the problem and suggest solution. The concept of a Task Force is that an
important task requires urgent work, on a war footing, the problem is multifaceted and
should be investigate from several angles, and that collaboration of the concerned people
is necessary to own up the responsibility and find a solution. Task Force contribute to
Improvement of quality of products and services is usually done through a tem. Quality
Circles are being used in many organisations on the Japanese model, Productivity Circles
or Productivity Teams can also be set up, as discussed in the last section. The more such
teams, are used with success, the more the employees learn how to work in teams.
teams or team work. Rewards are generally individual. Even most Indian firms reinforce
the image of an individual hero facing and successfully overcoming extremely difficult
developed appraisal system not only for individual employees, but also for teams.
included; how much team spirit the employee shows (worked as a member of teams), and
what efforts he made to develop team of his own employees showed (worked as member
of teams), and what efforts he made to develop teams of his own employees.
Productive teams should also be rewarded. Competition can be instituted for selecting
the most productive team, or the best task Force contributing to big savings, or
autonomous work groups producing high quality products etc. Areas of competition and
criteria for selecting the teams may be carefully planned. Some of the rewards may be
both symbols of prestige, and use to the group. For example, the best performing branch
of a Bank can be given a covetable facility (water cooler, photo copier, telex, fax etc.).
Team Building Exercises : Team building may require special attention, most of the
Organisation Development (OD) programmes are concerned with team building. Team
building is seen as the building block of an organisation. Special interventions are made
to build strong teams. In the past, the first exercise in OD work used to be building
teams, beginning from the top, through special programmes of sensitivity training or T-
Groups. These programmes helped in developing strong teams. Later, problems of poor
team work, they prepare possible action plans to deal with such problems and implement
the plans, stronger teams may emerge. The basic idea of team building is to confront the
issues in the open, develop norms of frank feedback to each other, and to generate
alternative solutions jointly, Generally, an export consultant is invited to help in such
exercises.
Process help to teams : teams need to know if they are working effectively, and where
they can improve. A supervisor can provide such help, or he may like to invite an
throughout the meeting of the tam, and towards the end gives feedback on different
aspects of team working : who monopolished most contributions, who were silent
members, were “cliques” visible (consistent supporting behaviour amongst some sub-
groups, or fight between two or building on each others ideas etc.). Such analysis of task
and process functions helps the team to became aware of its problems, strengths etc. It
also helps individual members to understand how they functioned as team members.
A supervisor may learn such process skills, and may provide such help to teams from
time to time. Generally the last half an hour or so may be kept for process analysis.
Each team can adopt the practice of keeping the last half-hour or one hour for processing,
to examine how they functioned as team. Team members can be given special training in
An employee has worked very hard, and expects to be rewarded for his work. He does
not get any reward, not even appreciation. He feels frustrated. Another employee has
been promised a very exciting assignment, but his work constitutes visits to a corporate
customer who has promised him to buy his product. But the customer finally refuses to
buy the product. The salesman is frustrated. We can cite examples after examples of
frustration and disappointment. Every day we face situations which frustrate us.
What causes frustration ? Let us take an example of Ali who felt frustrated because he
worked hard and his boss had promised that he would be given the higher position, but he
did not get the position when the announcements were made. How much frustrated did
he feel ?
Several factors contribute to frustration. All these are goal-related factors. These are
F = E X V X O + I + P, where
F= Frustration
As may be seen from he formula, three variables have a multiplicative function – they
enhance frustration faster. If one of them is zero, the resulting frustration will be zero. In
the example given above, if Ali had no expectation to get promoted (his goal) he would
have no or very little frustration even if he did not get promoted. Similarly, if the goal,
(getting promoted) was not seen as attractive or valuable, there would be little frustration.
The more attractive the goal the more the frustration caused by the obstacle in achieving
the goal. In the same way, if Ali saw the possibility of getting promotion very soon (say,
in the next batch), the frustration caused by not getting promoted would not be much.
The other two elements (effort invested and publicity of expected reward) have additive
function. They add to the frustration, but not in the same p proportion. The more effort
one has invested in the process of achieving a goal, the higher is the frustration on
deprivation of the goal. Fro example, Alig’s frustration would be high because he
worked very hard for the promotion. Similarly, the more others know about the possible
achievement of the goal by a person, the higher the frustration if he does not reach the
goal. For example, if more people knew that Ali was likely to get promoted, he would
feel more frustrated compared with a situation in which no one knew that he was likely to
be rewarded.
Circularity of Frustration
When a person is frustrated or disappointed he my react in a particular way, and start off
a cycle. He may trigger a cycle of frustration, or a cycle of hope. The frustration cycle is
problem solving.
Disappointment may cause loss of flexibility and what may be called “adaptive
employee may neglect his work, may cause delays, may make errors etc. the frustrated
person may annoyed with himself for such deterioration, but he may continue in such a
state. Often others may not approve of such behaviour. The person then feels and gets
isolated, and tried to cope with the situation as well as he can. However, isolation often
employee may see his boss in “collusion: with others in creating the disappointment.
perception, the frustrated person is likely to show behaviour which will help the person
escape or defence against anxiety, and maintain and even enhance self esteem by
absolving the self of any responsibility in the deteriorating frustration cycle. Thee
behaviours use what are called “defense mechanisms” (mechanisms to defend against
anxiety) and the behaviour. It does not solve the problem, but helps to reduce anxiety.
The frustrated person may deny that he is disappointed, or he may see a design of several
people jealous of his ability of popularity, and so on. In the next section we shall discuss
defense mechanisms in some detail. The defensive behaviour often justifies and
The cycle of hope is the opposite of this. A disappointed individual, instead of being
overwhelmed with disappointment, and losing interest in his work, analyses the situation
with greater objectivity, understanding what has caused what, where things went wrong
etc. This is likely to lead to exploration with others, collection of information, and
discovery of facts. With more and comprehensive information, the person is likely to get
a better insight into the whole situation, leading to action to deal with the situation. This
completing the cycle of hope. Both the cycles of frustration and hope, like such cycles
are self-perpetuating. As the cycles advances, it get stronger, and is likely to repeat itself.
Coping Behaviour
employee does not get his breakfast in time to be able to catch a transport of work,
misses his bus, does not get the expected reward, finds his son/daughter scoring low in
examination, finds his important papers missing, and son on. We can recount hundreds
A general manger, promoted from production position, faced with frustrating experience
of fall in productivity, may behave in a variety of ways. He may be angry in general and
with his staff (aggression); he may such to solve the production problems, as he knows
the job well(regression); he may explain away the problem to his seniors (flight) or he
may sit with his people, analyse the data, and take decisions to improve the situation
(exploration). These four modes of coping re not simple. They take several forms. We
Managing Frustration
The supervisors are frequently required to deal with frustration of their employees. The
frustration.
1) Listen to the feelings of the staff : The first steps is taken by the supervisor by
understanding the feelings and point of view of the frustrated employee(s). This
may be done by asking the employee(s) to state the problem, their feelings, and
impressions, the manager may do well to patiently listen to them. One test of
listening, and a desirable behaviour assuring the employees that the manager
listened to them is to restate their point of view, feelings and perceptions at the
may help in building rapport with the employees if the manager shares his own
disappointment with them. This should not be done as a gimmick, but if he has
3) Share feeling of guild (if any) : Sometimes the supervisors may partly contribute
to the disappointment of the employees. He may build high expectations, and the
employees may feel frustrated because the expectations are not met. Or he may
promise something to an employee who does not get it. In such situations, a
explanation is given, the manager may share his feelings of guild in arousing
expectations, etc.
behaviour in sharing his feelings and owning up feelings of guild may help the
employees own up their own feelings of disappointment, anger etc. This may
constructive action is to acknowledge the reality and be ready to deal with it.
Clearing the feelings may help the employee-supervisor team to move forward,
and not get fixated at feelings. The new situations as it exists may be clearly
enjoying life together), effects on work (neglect of work, errors, fall in quality,
absenteeism) etc. It may be useful to help the employee reflect and assess the
damage frustration is doing to them. Even if the work in the organisation suffers
the man damage is done to the frustrated employee. The employees need to
7) Develop alternatives to solve the problem : The final steps is involve the
frustrated employees ingenerating alternatives and dealing with the problem and
supervisors may suggest some possibilities. Most often the employees, being
Supervisory Styles Survey (SSS) has been adopted from the “Supervisory Leadership and
Published by University Associates of USA). IT describes the instrument and gives some
research findings showing stability of the style over time. A related concept of “Task
Nurturing” style has been proposed by J. B. Sinha in Nurturant Task Leader (Concept,
1980) where he proposed, citing research findings from several organisations, that task
Nurturant leadership style is the most relevant one for Indian organisations.
Discussion of the different power bases, and use of an instrument to measure use of and
need for coercive and persuasive power can be found in “Bases of Power” by Udai
Pareek (Unpublished).
Team Building Second Edition by W.G.Dyer (Addison Wesley, 1987) describes a team
building programme and its applications. Dharni Sinha describes team building
More details about the dynamics of employee frustration can be found in chapter 11 of
Organisational Behaviour Processes by Udi Pareek (rawat, 1988) from which the ideal
Objectives
Differentiate between listening to and hearing the employees, and between helpful
Structure
Young persons (works and mangers included develop by being with persons whom they
admire, and by building a trusting relationship with their supervisor who nurture, support
and guide their subordinates. There is no substitute for such a dyadic relationship for
employee development. If differs from training mainly in its intensity or relationship and
When a young person joins an organisation he/she needs some senior person (whom
he/she admires for various qualities) in whom(s) he can confide and get advice and
support. The person need not be, and preferably should not be, his/her supervisor. Such
relationship is called mentoring, ad the senior person is called mentor. He word has its
origin in Greek mythology. Odysseus, while going on a long10-year voyage, left his
house and his son Telepaths in the care of an old man name Mentor, who not only helped
the boy to become a competent young man, but also on one occasion saved his life. This
mentoring relates to emotional support and guidance given by usually an older person to
The young employee also need’s to develop trusting and supportive relationship with
his/her immediate supervisor, who can help the former to set challenging task goals,
support him/her to achieve them, help him/her to analyse why he/she could not have
higher performance, and plan to have higher achievement in future. This processes called
cousnelling or coaching or performance review which can be defined as help provided by
the-job, in order to improve their performance. While mentoring is concerned about the
counseling or coaching (we shall use the word counseling for this process) focuses on the
analysis of performance on the job, and identification of training needs for further
improvement.
Objectives of Mentoring
The main purpose of mentoring is to provide opportunity to young people to share their
concerns and get both moral support and guidance for their development. It involves the
following :
mentor
3) Providing him an opportunity to acquire more insight into his behaviour and
feedback.
7) Encouraging him to generate alternatives for dealing with arioso problems and
various objectives.
9) Providing him empathetic atmosphere for his sharing and discussing his
Both counseling and mentoring involve help and support by a senior person (in
helping
(responding),and giving feedback. The counselor or the mentor does all these. The
strengthened and creating conditions in which the person is able to learn from the
Helping behaviour is based on concern and empathy of the mentor or the counselor
much to counsellor’s need as the former does to the altar’s and finally, helping
response, and supportive questioning are important both in mentoring and in performacne
attention to the various messages being sent by the other person. The obvious message is
the ideas being communicated (cognitive message). Both more hidden may be the
feelings and the concerns the other person may not be able to put clearly in words.
Given below are statements made by different people. Identify the feelings behind them
and enter in the space provide. To aid you in this exercise, given below are a list of words
A feeling may occur more than once in the 25 statements. Mention only the numbers of
1) Happy ……………………………………………………………………………..
2) Depressed………………………………………………………………………....
3) Miserable ………………………………………………………………………...
4) Confused …………………………………………………………………………
5) Discouraged …………………………………………………………………….
6) Relieved………………………………………………………………………….
7) Uneasy……………………………………………………………………………..
8) Pressured ………………………………………………………………………
9) Despair …………………………………………………………………………….
1) I work like a donkey have. Any tough job comes to me. When it comes to
rewards and promotions those who butter the boss get it.
2) Every time my superior checks the work I have done, he finds something
wrong in it. He himself does useless things. Next time he finds faculty with
3) While I accept that I have not done as well as I could have, that low rating
you gave bothers me. It may affect my promotion which is due next year.
4) I think I am the culprit, I made the mistake of transferring this young man to
the other department and how he is leaving us to join the other company.
5) I have waited all these years having continuous hopes year after year. Now I
think it is too later for me to aspire for any roe when I did not et anything for
6) This fellow does not work at all and he is being pampered because he has
political connections.
7) I do not understand what to do. I am driving myself to death now. I was told
that if the quality does not impose they may have to abandon this product.
8) I should not have given him so much freedom. He leaked out everything
9) What do I do ? The situation has changed overnight, the market ahs changed
10) What is the great thing he has done ? He copies and presented the model as
his inventing. That is the way he fools people and bosses fail to recognise it.
Activity B : Listening to Concerns
“because”, Your response should reflect the personal concern, as far as you can ascertain
promotion
2. I do not know why I was transferred to You feel puzzled and you resent because
………………………………………..
department ………………………………………..
at nothing. ………………………………………..
several purpose : they can help ingesting more information, establishing mutuality,
important role. Some questions can shut off the counseled, or make him depending on
the counselor. Another set of questions can build autonomy of hecounsellee. Obviously
The following types of questions are not only not helpful, they hinder the process of
effective counseling.
Critical Questions
Questions which are used to critics, reprimand or doubt the counselee create a gap
between hams and counselor. The ways the question is asked (tone or sarcasm) may
indicate that the question is a critical one. The choice of words may also indicate the
critical nature of the questions. “Why did you fail touchier your targets ?”
communicates criticism, whereas “why could you not attain your targets ?” Wood
normally communicate invitation to examine hindering factors. “How did you again fall
short of your target?” is a reprimanding question. :How can you achieve this target you
failed lat time”, indicates doubt I the ability of the counselee. All such critical questions
Testing Questions
Questions which are asked to find whether a personas right or wrong or how much he
know are evaluating or testing questions. Such questions may tend to make the other
person defensive. In a testing question the person who is asking the question takes a
superior attitude, and the other person is put in a kind of witness box. Such questions
may also take the form of cross-examination. A reporting officer who proposes to find
out why his employee was not able to meet his target can easily slip into a cross-
examination, testing or evaluating posture. Again the tone of the interviewer may
determine whether the question is asked as a testing question. Such questions are
Resenting Questions
A person may ask questions to indicate his resentment for the behaviour o the other
person. When am employee is counseling situation asks : “how should I attain higher
target ?” may indicate his reentment depending on the tone in which such question is
asked.
Leading Questions
Quite often unknowingly we ask question which indicate w2hat kind of answers we want
and we may get such answers in tern. Such a question may be asked art making a
statement. For example a reporting officer may say to his employee : you could not
attain the target because Maintenance Department did not cooperate. “Is that true?” or it
may be put in the question form : “Wren you not able to attain the target because the
Maintenance Units id not cooperate ?” Both are leading questions. A leading question
almost seduces the other person to go along the line of thinking one who puts the
The following types of questions may be helpful in developing more healthy relationship
Trusting Questions
Questions which are asked to indicate that the questioner is seeking help or suggestions
may indicate the trust he has in other person. He question “how do you think I candela
wither problem I am facing” is seeking help from the other person. Such questions may
Clarifying Questions
Questions may be asked to collect information, more facts and figures. Such question are
very helpful. If a counsellor ask his employee several questions to help him to get more
information about various aspects he would help him inhaling relevant information to
understand his problems. After listening to a person sometimes the counsellor may
paraphrase the constellate’ s statement (also called mirroring), then may ask a question to
confirm whether his understanding is correct. For example the question “You are
When questions are asked about he feeling of a person, his concern, his problems not so
much for finding solutions as to indicate and express concern of the questioner, these
your son feeling Now ?” he is not so much seeking information, as he is indicating his
personal concert about the health of the employee’s son and thereby he is howling his
sympathy with the employee. Such questions help to generate more trust, and the
necessary rapport with the employee. Empathic questions create a climate of mutual trust
Open Questions
The moss useful questions are those which stimulate reflectin nd thinking on the part of
the counselee. “why do you think we ache not achieved the targets this year while the
other company ahs done so ?” is an open question inviting the other person to expire the
various possible dimensions, and to share these with the person why asking such a
which light have been neglected to far. Such questions are very useful.
Responding to Questions
Counsellors sometime use responses some of which are useful and some other
dysfunctional. Some counsellors may be using more often certain types of responses than
others. It is necessary to be are of these. Reponses that alienate the employee, critics him
are more likely to be dysfunctional. Empathetic, supportive and exploring responses are
more functional. Various verbal behaviours in counseling situation hat characterize these
Exhibit 1
Counselor Responses
Alienating Empathic
listening
Identifying feelings
Critical Supportive
Criticizing Recognising
Belittling Trusting
Reprimanding
Directive Exploring
Prescribing Questions
Ordering Reflecting
Shoring Probating
Threatening Closing
Feedback
reducing the blind area of a person, helping him to become more aware about his
strengths and weaknesses. If properly used, it results in higher mutuality between two
persons. The process of interpersonal feedback and conditions which make it effective
have been discussed indusial elsewhere (Parsec, 1976). The following hints are
Feedback will be effective if the person who gives the feedback (counselor ) makes sure
that it :
6) is continuous,
9) is intoned to help,
11) satisfies needs of both the feedback giver and one who received feedback,
From the point of view of one who receives feedback it is necessary that the reacting
terms of defensive behaviour. The following defensive behaviour might not hip in
using feedback properly, and the beahviour which are opposite of these may be
helpful.
4) Displacement (expressing negative feelings to one who may not fight back) as
opposed to exploration (taking help of the other person in knowing more about
improvement.
positive critical attitude to accept some feedback and to question some other.
Empowering
mentor, or the supervisor, is seen as a model, the employee develops identification with
with his manger. One major influence which empowers an employee is the opportunity
for him to identify with individual having more experience, skill and influence. This
power motivation. This legitimate need should be fulfilled. Levinson states several
barriers which may come in the way of such legitimate process of identification : lack of
rivalry, and unexamined relationship. Levi son suggests that to help the development of
the process of identification it is necessary that the manager also examines his own
The way the supervisor exercises his/her influence over the employees may either
empower the employee or reduce his capacity to amok impact. Distinction has been
made between two modes of influence, one called erect mode of influence (which
restricts the freedom of the other person), and the other indirect mode of influence (which
increases the freedom of the person) Flanders have developed some categories to
indelicate the two modes. He classified criticism and punishment in the second category
actions for which he is criticized or punished are inhibited and the person avoids doing
those in future. This restricts his freedom. On the other hand, if a person is praised or
praising good ideas given by the counselee, and raining questions which promote
Without manager’s concern for his employees, effective helping cannot be provided in
the compelling sessions. Such concern is shown when the counsellor is able to feel for
his subordinate and is able to empathies with him. These would be reflected in the kinds
of questions asked and the tone in which conversation takes place. Manages may
constantly ask themselves how much concern and genuine empathy they have for the
employees whom they are counselling. Without such genuine concern, counseling may
not only degenerate into a ritual and cannot achieve its goals.
Counselling should not be regarded as merely giving help. It is also receiving help on
various aspects. Unless such a relationship is established – i.e., both persons involved in
the relation feel fee to ask for and provide help to each other – counseling cannot be
effective. Mutuality is based entrust and genuine perception that each personas enough to
contribute. Although the counselor is in superior position, he continues to learn and to
suggested a few techniques like a you we technique, second hand complient, advice
request and summer. In the you are we technique, one uses you to competent and we to
criticse (“you are done a great job, we have a problem”). The second hand
a third party. (Mr. Raman says that you have done an excellent job for him). The advice-
request is asking eh employee for suggestions and advice. Summarising at the end helps
clarifying the decisons taken and fixing the responsibilities and integrating the whole
discussion.
Counselling is helping the employee to grow and develop in the organisation. Every
lie. An effective counselor manger is one who helps his employees to become more
aware of their strengths and weaknesses. By the process of mutuality and support he
helps the employees to develop, providing ther proper emotional climate. Mutuality
involves working together with the employee and developing future plans of action for
employees growth and contribution to the orgnisation. Support involves acceptance of
the employee as a total person with his strength and weakness and encouraging him with
warmth.
Good managers counsel their employees regularly in their jobs whenever a necessity
arises. Annual performance review provide formal opportunities for formal counselling.
Such a formal counseling process passes through certain stages which are important forte
mangers to note. The counselling process has the following three phases : rapport
acceptance, warmth, support, oppress and mutuality. He does this by emptying with
of interest in him.
In the exploration phase the counselor attempts to help the employee to understand
himself and his problem better. He may do this by razing question to help the employee
expire his problems, and helping him to diagnose the problem properly.
In the action planning phase, the counselor and the employee jointly work out plan
specific action steps for the development of the employees. The mangos makes
development.
Exhibit 2 gives the three phases (and the sub-phases) of the counseling process. Against
each sub-passage mentioned counsellor behaviour which are helpful in the counseling
Rapport Building
Rapport building is essential for any effective counseling outcome. Rapport building
phase involve generating confidence in the employees to open up and frankly share his
perceptions, problems, concerns, feelings etc. the counselor manager should level
himself with his employee and tune himself to his orientations. This can be done
Attending
rituals may communicate messages of attending to the counselee and give importance to
the counseling transaction. Inviting rituals like offer the chair, closing the door to
indicate privacy, asking the secretary not to disturb or not to pass on the telephonic calls
during the conation may indicate that the counselor is attending to the counseled.
However, all such rituals should come out of the genuine concern and attempt for full
Listening
It has already been discussed that listening is important for effective counseling. As
already stated it is important to listen to what the employs says, as well as to his feeling,
and concerns, physical postures (e.g., leaning forward) and keeping eye contact with the
Acceptance
employee must feel that he is wanted and his counselor is nitrated in understanding him
communicates this to the employee by listening to althea problem o tee employee and
communicating back the employee that he is listening. The counselor can communicate
back to the employee that he is listening. The counsellor can communicate back to the
employee by paraphrasing, mirroring or reflecting what the employee says. For example,
when an employee says, “I am really mad, I have worked twice as hard as anyone else in
the office. But I never get promoting,” he is expressing his anger. The counselor may
reflect back and say, “You feel that your superiors have not shown proper recognition for
your had work”. Such a reflection or mirroring would hip the employee feel that he is
being understood and that his counselor is interested in him. This builds in a climate of
Exploration
the counselor should attempt to understand as well help he employee understand his own
situation, strengths, weakness, problems and needs. Nobody would like to be directly told
his weaknesses. Counselling skill lies in making the employee discover his own
weaknesses, and identify his problem. A the most the counselor may use open and
exploring questions.
Exhibit 2
Smile
Listening (to) Physical attention (posture) Distraction
telephones
verbal)
Paraphrasing feelings
possible problems
Encouragement to generate
information
Identification of a probable
problem
causes
Action Planning
solutions generating
alternative solutions
Contingency plan
help
Monitoring
Contract on help
Exploring
unidentified problem and bring to surface unnoticed issues. Exploring can be done by
using questions and suggesting to the employee to talk more on a problem mentions. A
After general exploring questions may be asked to help the employee focus on the
problem. It is necessary fro the counselor to use questions both to generate information
on some concerns and problems, and to narrow down focus to identify a more probable
problem, For example, if an employee feels that his problems that other do not cooperate
with him, the counsellor may ask questions to narrow down the probe to the employee’s
relationship, with a few colleagues; and then questions may be asked to help the
employee see what he does that presents possible cooperation. Eventually the problem
may turn out as to how the employee may deal with competitive relationship, and ye
improvement.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of the problem is the next step in exploration. Exploration should lead to the
diagnoses. Without diagnosis there’s little scope fro solving any problem. Open
questions like. “why do you think people are put off when you talk with them?” “Can
you recall occasions when you got full cooperation?”, what do you attribute it to?”,
“What personal limitations mainly bother you?” may help the employee more towards a
better diagnosis. The main attempt should be to generate several alternative causes of a
problem.
Acton Planning
Managers are expected to guide their employees and contribute to their development.
Counselling interviews should end with specific plans of action for the development of
the employee. Identifying a training need, job rotation, sponsoring for further training,
increased responsibility, role clarity etc. are some of the likely outcomes in such action
Searching
The main contribution of the counsellor to action planning is the help he provides to the
encouraging the employee in brain storming such alternatives, the counselor at a later
stage can also add to this list of alternative for further exploration. This should, however,
be done only after sometime. The employee should primarily take the responsibility
generating alternatives.
Decision Making
After the alternatives have been generated, the counselor may help the employee assess
advantages and disadvantages of each alternative, raise questions on the feasibility of the
various alternatives and help finalise a plan to be implemented. This may, however, be
Supporting
The final and the crucial stereo counseling is to communicate support and plan for such
support in implementing the agreed action plan. Psychological contract of providing help
in further incising autonomy of the employee, and not his dependence on the counsellor.
Design and monitoring the action plan and needed follow up may also be prepared. This
Levinson et al. (1978) have contributed the most to the understanding of the mentoring
developed of skills and intellect, host, guide, exemplar, endmost importantly supporter
and facilitator in the realization of the vision the young person has about the kind of life
and peer support without being either. According to Levinson not having a mentor in
formative years of a young person could be a great handicap to one’s psychological and
career development.
Although young person during tier professional journey unknowingly research and
phenomenon. Generally, roe promising young mangers are given mentoring experience.
A young manger assigned to a mentor, who is senior in position and age sometimes
several levels senior to the protégé; not necessarily from the protégé’s department.
Mentors are selected on the basis of their interest, availability and “mentoring
One mentor may have not more than five protégé. Tate Iron successfully used this
arrangement.
There are two main phases in mentoring process, dependence and inter-dependence,
although couter-depence may in some cases be an intermediary phase between the two.
During dependence phase admiration for the mentor is followed by identification with
him, followed by approval (getting guidance and checking alternative action aides). The
inter dependence phase is characterized by trust-building and mutuality when the mentor
and the protégée may begging to collaborate and provide emotional support to each
dependence may develop before inter-dependence. The protégé may reject the mentor
and may develop his own independence, Search of one’s own identify may later fled to
appreciation of the mentor’s role and relationship, leading to inter dependence. Several
well-known persons in the west having famous mentors passed through the counter-
Mentoring process is quite similar to the counseling process. The dynamics of the phases
discussed with counseling are also applicable to mentoring. The ultimate goal of both
effectiveness.
D’ Levi son et. al. have provided the most extensive material on mentoring is The
of teacher model counselor, supporter, glide, sponsor and host; the relationship is intense,
lasting for 2 to 10 years. According to him the most successful men had mentors as
young adults. The importance of mentoring has been supported big. Valliant in a
Orche surveyed 4000 executive and reported in an article “much add about mentors”
(HBR, 1979,volume 20 that two kinds had relationship with a mentor, and one third with
two or ore more. He further reported that those who had mentors earned more money at a
younger age, followed a carrier path, were happier with their career and sponsored more
protégés.
There is a large literature on counseling, A comprehensive book on performance
Results (addition-Wesley, 1972), in which simple suggestions are given for effective
have advocated contract counell9ng, based on transitional analysis approach. The main
techniques employed in contact counseling are keying (reading people), responding and
Pareek and T. V. Rao, included in their designing and managing Human Resource
System (Oxford and IBH, 1982) and to be published by the University Associated 1990
Annual. This model ahs been used ninths unit. Training material (self test, role plays and
analysis of counelling scripts etc.) on this model are contained in T. V. Rao and U.
Pareeek’s performance Appraisal and Review “: Operating Manual and Trainers Manual
Activity- Answers
The correct responses for these activities are as follows. Please check your responses on
Activity A
1) Resentment 6) Resentment
2) Hostility 7) Anxiety
3) Guilt 8) Guilt
4) Guilt 9) Despair
Activity B
1) You feel angry because your hard work is not being recognized
2) You feel puzzled and you recent because you were transferred without being
3) You feel angry because you were not given an adequate chance to prove your
worth.
4) You feel trapped because you don’t feel capable of pleasing him
5) You are puzzled because your boss is not consistent in what he says about
you.
MS-22
Human Resource
Development
Block 3
UNIT 10
UNIT 11
UNIT 12
UNIT 13
1
BLOCK 3 COMPARATIVE HRD EXPERIENCES
This block comprises five units. The first Unit (Unit 9) gives an overview of the status
and the context of HRD systems in government and public systems, suggesting HRD
interventions required for improving work culture and efficiency. Unit 10 presents the
application of HRD concepts to social and family welfare programmes. Unit 11 deals
with the HRD processes and intervention in four strategic sectors viz., defence, police,
panchayati raj institutions and voluntary organisations, responsible strategic sectors viz.,
strategic functions. Unit 12 examines the relevance and application of HRD polices and
practices in different parts of the world, highlighting the major commonalities and
differences.
2
UNIT 9 HRD OVERVIEW IN GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SYSTEMS
Objectives
Structure
9.8 Summary
9.9 References
The government has a critical role to paly in the development of the country. It acts as a
planner, regular, catalyst, controller and investor. It policies and practices directly
determent the nature and direction of HRD activates in institutions and organization
3
under the direct control of government such as the administrative machinery and public
sector organisations. Indirectly, the government’s polices and practices set the tone and
create an environment which may discourage or encourage the HRD activate soft other
organisation in the non-governmental sector has HRD in government ahs a strategic role.
That is, its own policies an practices have a ripple effect with wide ranging impact on
India’s where the government regulates the activities of even private sector organizations.
Broadly, HRD in government can be given two interpretations. The first can be that it
refers to the HRD activities in various ministries, departments and government agencies.
environmental else, policies and conditions which affect HRD in various other
organisaiton.1 For instance, the policies and practices at the micro organisational level.
This chapter will examine government’s role in HRD mainly from the former angle.
The environmental and situations conditional under which the government operates have
an important bearing on its HRD practices. By and large, the government is seen to be
conservative and slow in managing and implementing HRD and its HRD activities are
often constrained by red-tapes and bureaucratic delays. The government has been slow to
introduce been fairly conventional HRD systems such as regular training and
4
development of its personnel. There are a number of reasons which may explain these
Government institutions are very large and complex systems. To cope with the
diverse in nature and are scattered across the length and breadth of the country. The sheer
size spread, diversity and complexity of the administrative machinery y make the HRD
function in government a highly complex one. A second factor is the historical context of
in the legistlative branches of the government. the executive branches consisting of the
Thus, for instance, although India has been independent of the British now for over forty
years, very many of our administrative polices and practices continue to be the same or
similar to what they were during the time of British rule. The sheet magnitude and
Furthermore, changes in the administrative practices of the government may even cause
considerable disruption and organizational turbulence not only within the government
system but also outside. This is why the introduction of even minor new HRD systems is
a slow, difficult and often hazardous process in governmental systems. On the other
5
hand, the social economic and political environment in which governmental institutions
influences both from within and outside. Thus, public administrators frequently find that
they have to cope with changing circumstances, new problems and new task, while the
human and organizational resources available to them remain relatively unchanged. This
give rise to complaints of bureaucratic delays, red-tapism, apathy, lack of motivation etc.
Such difficulties are the cost common cause of frustrating and demodulation among
government functionaries.
A final contextual factor of consider the important to HRD in Government has been the
technological revolutions, and widespread changes eve in political systems. Inmost part
of the world the increasing tendency toward democratisation has made governing systems
of all kind more visible and accountable to the common people. Consequently there are
As Mathus points out : “The massiveness of the social, economic and political changes
implies the need for careful all-round planning and control of resources at all levels. An
enlightened administration, dealing constantly with new situations, with economic social
complexity all the time, needs an equally committed, motivated, dynamic and inventive
6
administrative service personnel to handle various levels of administration …… The
administration has to assume many different roles and responsibilities for effective
the above context becomes quite clear. HRD in administration implies a series of
are concerned with training, education and development of all those people who are
systems are :
To equip the civil servant with precision and clarity in transaction of business
to attune the civil servant a to new task which he will be called upon to perform in a
changing world
doing in a wider setting and by preserving with his own educational development;
To develop and maintain staff moral particularly because large number of people have to
To inculcate right attitudes towards the public, never forgetting that the civil servant its
7
To sustain the human touch not only in direct personal contacts with the public but also in
The aim of HRD has to be to develop the administrators not just for the needs of
tomorrow but even for those of the days after. The RHD programmers can reduce the
consciousness gap between the leaders of society and masses of people by training
initiate impulses of change in the administrative apparatus and will lead to improved
efficiency, productivity and administrative performance. In fact, of later there has been
financial outlays and consequential increase in the number of training opportunities for
administrators.
organisation that does not plan for its human resources will often find that it is not
meeting either its personnel requirements or its overall goals effectively. There are four
8
Planning for development.
Planning for development aims at increasing the ability of the individuals and groups to
education employees beyond the requirements of their present position so that they will
be prepared for promotion and be able to take a broader vie of their role in the
of experienced and capable personnel? The central elements in human resource planning
are forecasting and the human resource audit. forecasting attempts to assess the future
personnel needs of the organisation. The human resource audit assess the organization’s
current human resources. In the human resource audit, the skills and the performance of
each individuals in the organisation are appraised. Induction and orientation are designed
to provide a new employee with the information he (or she) need in order to function
attitude of the employees. Continuous monitoring of the actual job performed will reveal
changes that call for new training. Tainting for advancement is needed to enable the
9
9.4 ROLE SET OF GOVERNMENT ADMINSITRATION SYSTEM
With the introduction of the Five Year Plans after independence, the government of India
took upon itself a developmental role in addition to the conventional regulatory role. The
assumption underling the new role what that along with looking after law and order, the
structures. The Government also gave a lead role to the public sector in order to provide
Over the years, the expectations for the role of the governemtns’central administration
system has grown to a very great extent. The role set of the government in HRD can be
Ministers
Central Administration
People Industry Agriculture Services
State Administration
Such a role-set suggests the possibility of conflicting expectation and priorities which
objectives.
10
2. to help in optimizing goals
corrective action.
Government
Industry has used HRD in an integrated from only recently. In Government it is more
Appleby from the US Public Administration came and studied the Indian administration
set up. One of his recommendations was the need to transform administration from a
the recommendations.
systems and training and development. This led to the setting up of an Administrative
Reforms Cell, within the Home Ministry first. This later become a Personnel department.
11
Three actives were strengthened among others, nomination of more officers for training
within and outside the country, computerization of manpower data and more systematic
The Indian Institutes of Monument, Calcutta and Ahmedabad started in1962. By the
early seventies, Indian Administrative Service recruit were given management training
and management concepts were also brought into the training institutions of other public
With this new emphasis on HRD, ministers and secretaries of government departments
management and HRD at reputed management institutes like the ASCI, the IIM’sXLRI,
1. Training
The nature, size and variety of the plans and programmers of social and economic
advance that the country has undertaken determine the training of Government and
public systems. Ten years ago, There were only a few Central and State training
institutions for imparting induction training to their officers. Today, most States have
12
their own training institutions and if they do not have, they send them to other reputed
institutes.6
2. Job Rotation
The move away from purely generalist training on history, constitution, procedures etc.
towards specialised training, has also made possible more purposive rotation and transfer.
The earlier concept of the jack-of all-trades generalist, who can handle any assignment, is
giving way to better filment of role and person. Officers who have utilized the
opportunities to get Master and even doctoral degree inspecalised subjects like
Economies, Energy, Population Studies, Trade etc.are being rotated into relevant
assignments.
3. Data Bank
The awareness of HRD has coincided with a sudden acceptance of computers in not only
industry, where the debate has been raging for thirty years, but also in government. This
had enabled the computerization of human resource data. The data bank and its use for
drawing lists for training, rotation and promotion are being the norm in government.
There may be a lack of system discipline, and attempts at manipulation, but the system is
now available.
13
4. Selection
Even before independence, selection in government was “objective” in the sense of being
5. Manpower Forecasting 8
This goes mostly by annual manpower budgeting and adhoc proposals during the year.
But the five year plans have provided an opportunity for at least once in five years for
each Ministry to aments manpower forecasts. In the past such forecasts were mechanistic
extrapolations. What is more remarkable recently are the pressures for efficiency and
routinejobs.
14
e) he thrust towards declicensing, deregulation and decontrol, the move from
load further.
6. Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal as a HRD tool has not yet been realized in Government
the confidential rating systems, used largely for evaluation rather than development.
GOVERNMENTADMINSTRATION 9
general) to perform certain activities or tasks intended to achieve some desired outcomes.
certaining things to achieve them. The people who should to these things are the
employees. What they do or are expected to do may be called “activities” or” task”.
15
These activities or tasks are grouped into categories and are sometimes called
“functions”. If the task or activities have to be performed well, certain conditions have to
met. The following are some of the important conditions that need to be fulfilled :
• The goals or objectives should be clearly stated and preferably in observable and
measurable terms.
• The activities or task required to be performed for achieving the goals should be
needed and the competencies existing in the employees should be reviewed and
HRD is nothing but a planned way of ensuring that the above conditions are met. In order
include activitity analysis or task analysis or role analysis exercises, critical discussions,
16
potential development exercises, training OD, etc. Some of these mechanisms are briefly
described below :
These activities aim at examing and organising the various task to be accomplished in
order to achieve organizational objectives. Inactivity analysis all the activities required to
accomplish the final or intermediate goals of the organization are identified. Task
analysis is concerned with identifying the functions or categories of tasks. Role analysis
The above mentioned activities are necessary for individuals to be able to perform well in
organizations resulting in vagueness about roles and tasks and overlapping functions.
external expert.
organizations
17
• The group then identified the specific objective of the their unit or department
• Every individual in the group examines how his or her job can contribute to the
objectives of the department and specifies goals and activities which he or she has
to fulfill.
• Each individual then presents his or her job objectives to the entire group and
or she has to perform, estimates the importance of and time required for these
activities, identifies the competencies that are needed to carry them out and
• The individual discusses the list with his or her supervisors, and a final activity
Critical attributes are the important qualities the job holder is required to posses in order
to perform the functions associated with his job well. In the activity/task/ role analysis
stated above, competency requirements are identified for each job holder by himself in
consultation with his supervisors. the critical competencies required to perform the job
are critical attributes. Incase an activity task/ role analysis is not being done by the unit, it
could undertake the identification of critical attributes with the help of specialists
18
critical competencies required for a job to perform it well and indicators of these
competencies. When specialists undertake such work they normally start with some form
of job analysis (somewhat similar to role analysis, the major difference being a relatively
more focus on the job and its components and less on the job holder and his expectations
The same could be done by the department itself in a similar way as role analysis. The
only additional step is to idetnify critical competencies form the list of competencies
identified. For each competency, indicators of the competency (e.g., a degree, diploma
evidence of handling the function well in the past, behaviors on his job, performance
3. Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal systems as instruments of HRD have not yet been realised in
when it is used to help an employee understand his tasks and the mean of achieving them,
identify the strengths and weaknesses he has relevant to his job, and acquire new
Government, it is possible and even desirable for every administrative head to design
19
and follow a performance review process in his unit or department. The following
• Periodically, about once every six months or a year, every appraiser meets with
this appraise for a formal discussion regarding the appraiser’s work and
performance.
• The appraiser and appraise jointly review the latter’ past performance and decide
• An analysis is also carried out of the factors which inhabited or contributed to past
performance.
• Based on the above analysis, the appraiser identified the development needs of the
individual as well as those of the organization. These needs serve as the basis for
The performance appraisal system described above serves the purpose not only of
individual evaluation but also of providing important input data for an organization’s
4. Potential Development
Every individual has some competency or the other. An organization interested in HRD
enable the future growth of people. The objective of potential appraisal system is to
20
identify the potential of an employee to occupy higher positions in the organisation
4. Training
Most of the training in government today is institution dependent. If training has to serve
a useful purpose, the individual should feel a need for training, he or she should be
sponsored for training at a suitable time and he or she should be provided the
opportunities or facilities to use his earnings for the training. It is useful for every
department or organization to set apart an appropriate training budget. Training need not
be viewed as classroom training alone. It is possible to have monthly meetings of all staff
21
of a department in which information issued by the deparmtmen the and,or trainng inputs
organizations.
6. Organization Development
One of the most important, but also most neglected, aspects of HRD in government
system in organization development (OD). Given the traditional rigid and bureaucratic
structures and cultures which end to prevail in large organizations like government
systems, many HRD activities and systems cannot be successful unless planned changes
are made in existing organizational structure and cultures. Odis a method of planned
One approach to OD in a government system has been used and described by Vittal12.
this involves the administration of a questionnaire to assess the attitudes of pole and the
• What are your individual problems and what solutions do you suggest ?
• What are the major problems facing the department and what are your ideas to
overcome them ?
22
• What are your objectives ? Are we taking action to achieve them ?How
If thee data from such a questionnaire survey are shared with members of the
department and used as a basis for planning and implementing change, I would act much
which can be made in the department. The best suggestions accepted for implementation
are displayed in a roll of honour and the winners are given cash awards.
Management by Objective (MBO).14 In this method, people at all levels are involved in
identifying organizational goals and specific individual strategies for achieving these
Petonjee has pointed out the need for OD interventions to reduce the role stresses which
people in government departments are porn to face. Such stresses arise from conflicting
23
of one’s role etc. Role based interventions can help reduce these stresses by claying,
9.8 SUMMARY
HRD has a strategic role to play in government. The contextual and historical conditions
affecting government systems give the HRD function in government a difficult and
complex role to play. HRD has to provide for the development of administrators and
personnel who in turn have to look after key developmental activities in the country.
Hitherto, HRD in government has been confirmed to limited training activities, job
The main components of such a system are suggested to be activity, task or role analysis,
9.9 REFERENCES
the 1989 Conference of the national HRD Network, New Delhi, pp.
479-503.
24
2) K. M. Mathur, “Human Resource Development in Administration”. In
5) Ibid.
7) M. B. Arthreya, op.cit.
8) Ibid
11) Ibid
25
13) Ibid
26
UNIT 10 HRD FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Objectives
• state the unique context in which human resource need to be developed for
programmes.
Resource functions
• identify the gaps in HRD for Health and Family Planning workers.
Structure
10.1 Introduction
Programmes in India
27
10.4 Summary
10.1 INTRODUCTION
increasing life period, decreasing mortality rate, incidence of diseases etc., and
rate, adoption of small size family norm and such other strategies. Health and
family welfare organizations attempt to achieve these goals through the use of
man, material money and services. A variety of human resources are being
utilized to work for these objectives. They include the Auxiliary Nurse
Medical Officers, District Level Officers, State level Officers and so on.
These categories of employees are directly governed by the health and family
form various other departments is also taken by the health department. Unless
these categories of employees are managed well, the services are likely to be
necessary capabilities in these pole to perform their tasks and then creating
28
I is all he more so in government organizations in India. While a great
acceptors and such other issues very little attention is paid to strengthen the
personnel in health and family welfare departments who are in turn supposed
context.
Acceptance of a small size family norm is essentially an individual decision or all the
most a joint decision of two people (husband and wife). Research evidence available on
issues of this kind in India indicates that people follow some processes or certain
sequences in coming to a final decision or before adopting a new norm or a new practice.
For example, researches on adoption of new agricultural practices suggest practice. For
example, researches on adoption of new agricultural practices suggest that the following
sequential stages are involved experiencing a need, becoming aware that there are
29
alternative or new ways of satisfying the need, becoming interest in one or more of these
researches indicate that the adoption sequence for family planning practices can be
viewed under five stages : 1) Awareness and formation of attitudes to a small size
choice of one or more methods. People at different stages of adoption. For example
using radios and television (if they are accessible) whereas people in stage 1 may need
more interpersonal dialogues and discussions. Thus diagnosis of the adoption stages
Influencing them to move towards adoption becomes very complicated due to lack of
The main agencies of the government at the operating level are the primary health
centers (PHCs) and sub centres at the village levels and urban health centers in urban
Multi-purpose workers, other health workers, and above all the Medical Officers
manning the PHCs. Preparation of people, educating them and motivating through
interpersonal communication and such other strategies, delivery of services etc, are all
the responsibilities of operating unit – the PHC. At a first level supervisor, the medical
30
people as he is also a main instrument in the delivery of services. The technical
capabilities required for delivering health and family planning services are developed in
him through medical education in the medical college, experience and other training
by his operating functionaries at the rural level are developed through he training they
receive before they take up the job. For some categories like ANMs such training is
more systematic and of longer duration and for some it is only short-term and sometimes
inadequate.
In order to supervise the operating units and personnel manning these units, to provide
them necessary assistance so that they will be able to perform their functions well and to
provide continuous guidance and counselling the district level functionaries exist. They
need to have substantial managerial and supervisory capabilities in order to do their job
well. The regional and state level functionaries take care of large issues like policy
functions.
31
10.3 WHAT DOES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN
RESOURCES MEAN ?
This background makes it clear that functionaries at different levels require different
programme objectives. The magnitude of the problem becomes clear when one look at
the position of the staff in the rural health family welfare centres alone in India. There
are about 20,000 doctors, 5,000 extension educators, 1,07,000 lady health workers,
85,000 male health workers, 40,000 family welfare health assistants, 10,000 nurse-
midwives, 4,000 statistical assistance (computers) 5,000 store-keepers and 3,000 drivers,
thus adding to a total of 2,70,000 staff members manning the rural family welfare centers
along by late Eighties. In addition there are thousand of staff manning the urban family
welfare centers, post-partum centers urn by the state governments (faculty in pediatrics,
etc. ), health and family welfare training centres, the district family welfare bureaus (like
District Family Welfare and MCH officer, Administrative Officer, Mass Education and
workers, statistical investigators and other support staff), state family welfare bureaus and
context would mean getting right people for the right jobs, developing their capabilities to
32
do their job effectively, monitoring their performance through appraisals, evaluation and
incentives, developing their capabilities continuously so that they will be able to adapt
themselves to the changing requirements of the field, that they will be able to adapt
continuously through appropriate reward systems and promotions and helping them at
every step through guidance, counseling etc., and getting the best out of their capacities.
deals with identifying right persons for the different jobs to be handled and
placing people in right places so that they can give their best.
capabilities in people so that they are able to perform their tasks well and meet
33
6. Regards and punishment : This function helps maintain the motivation of
at need places.
available for employees from their supervisor and helps creating a supportive
climate.
available for employees from their supervisor and helps creating a supportive
climate.
not exploited, their grievances and hear and good relationships are maintained.
11. Career Planning and development : This function ensures that people do
ensures creation of proper environment so that people give their best and
In the following section each of the above functions are taken up and the major issues
34
Manpower Planning
When one thins of the manpower planning the following question need to be
a sequence that people go through before they make their final decisions, are there
any studies available that determine the optimal number of contacts and the nature
of contract required to get one person move from the first stage (awareness) the
2) What kind of capabilities are required on the part of the field level worker in order
to help a person accept the small size norm? (Capabilities in terms of his
3) What will be the optimal size of the field staff required to cover a population of
4) What kind of roles jobs are need at the grass-root levels that perform mutually
exclusive functions ? (for example male workers can take care of male
population and female workers should take care of female population etc>0
5) What are the roles envisaged for the field staff once the field is saturated in terms
35
6) What are the manpower requirements estimated over years to take core of the
family welfare services ? What roles would they be performing over years as the
7) What should be the ratio of field staff to medical and other technical staff ? How
8) What are the supervisory levels required ? How many district level officials are
to the number of PHCs or the nature of the area ? What should be the criteria
used for determining optimal number of positions required at the district level ?
9) What are the manpower requirements at state levels ? Who should man what
positions ?
Manpower planning for manning the family welfare programmes should be based on
requirements, change if the field requirements with interventions by the staff, changes
required in the capabilities of the staff with changing requirements of the field.
Unless some research is done in selected areas and some norms are developed on
these directions the objectives may not be achieved. questions raised above need to
be answered.
36
1) Family planning programme is likely to be handicapped by the non-availability of
will not serve the purpose, because doctors need some incentive to work in rural
areas,
2) The utilisation of qualified nurses after give them necessary orientation training
programme.
programme either by hours or by cases in their won clinics or with the mobile
teams,
4) ANMs may fall short of the requirements in almost all the states. Some will be
case of LHVs.
In the experimental effort made in Author Block, an attempt was made to try a
modified staffing pattern for ANMs and LHVs and to evolve a methodology of work
Fro this experiment, each ANM was allotted about 5,000 population instead of 10,000
population distributed with a distance of two to three kilometers. Work plan was
improvement in the quantum and quality of MCH services was observed in this area
became almost complete, compared to 50-75 percent in other areas, the frequency of
37
post-natal visits were comparatively much higher, a considerable improvement was
observed in the post-natal care given to women in this area. There was study and
rapid increase in the number of female sterilizations, knowledge about various family
limitation methods was comparatively higher in this block. The improvement in the
record keeping system and the reporting of vital events was another achievement of
the programme. All these findings support the conclusion that the staff pattern of one
ANM per 5,000 population and the methodology of work developed within that
framework is effective and served as a model for development of the family planning
An important issue relating to manpower planning for family welfare services is the
involvement of others like teachers, panchayati leader etc. is likely to bring down the
pressure on the department for employing people exclusively for this programme.
(a) their existing attitudes, knowledge and skills to participate in family planning
activities; (b) their training needs and (c) reward systems required to motivate
them. Their study was conducted in two districts of Uttar Pradesh. On the basis
of their study they suggest that workers can be ranked in the following order in
38
(c) Village level workers
(e) Patwaris
The suggest that legitaimisng the participation of these categories would facilitate their
involvement.
Once a blue print of manpower requirement is prepared, the next step is identifying
suitable people to handle various jobs. In order to facilitate selection processes, blue
print of manpower requirements should specify various functions over time (that is
perform thee functions should be specified. This become important as the criteria of
evaluating an applicant for a given position or the mechanisms of generating right kind of
people to man various jobs becomes very much dependent on the job specifications. The
objective of selection should be (a) to find persons who will be able to perform the given
required tapeworm the given job, and (b) to select persons who would show the
organizational hierarchy or with eh new dimensions of the same role with change of time.
39
The following questions arise when one thinks of selection and recruitment process in the
1) Are there researches available that aim at giving clear cut outlines of functions
2) The family planning organization nation-wide does not include more than 60
different jobs as of today. If that is so, task analysis of these jobs is not a very
difficult matter. One might raise a question like is there anything unique
about family planning staff that require different qualities than the staff of
other organizations ?
3) What are the minimum qualifications that are required for performing each
role ?
5) Are there effective methods of selecting the people to man various jobs ?
what are the experiences of using various methods like written tests,
6) Who should be the people involved in selecting the persons at various levels ?
7) What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems of selection in the
8) What are the new methods that could be used to improve the existing practices
40
9) Are there some psychological tests and other mechanisms that have been
A review of the research indicates that very little is available in this area. There are a
few manuals published by the government whenever some new schemes are evolved.
These manuals at the most give job descriptions for a few jobs envisaged. Even these
job descriptions highlight what some senior officers in the ministries think and expect
For example, the National Institute of Family Planning brought out a guide for
extension work.
that success of the entire family planning programme depends upon the positive role
very much linked with the role expectations and his performance in the filed. Thus
41
5) Lack of feedback and field problems from the filed to the state level.
10) Vacant positions are never filled in time and frequent transfer of field workers
create problems
11) Lack of effort to counter to act prevalent rumours and misconceptions of people
Chattered, Singh and Mehrotra of the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta studied the
method of selecting field level family planning workers. They tried to evolve a
The tests used by them include : socio-economic status scale, general information
test, personally test, non-verbal intelligence test, verbal interest test, aptitude scale,
attitude scale, and value scale. These tests were administered to 55 female and 181
For the female works, the short attitude scale and the two personality sub-scales of
emotional instability and hypo manic temperament were the best predictors.
Likewise, for the male workers, the general information test was the best predictor
42
followed by the socio-economic status scale, intelligence test and the religious values
test.
Perhaps this is the only systematic study available in personnel selection for family
welfare workers.
There is a great need for more work in selection techniques. Related to this is the
need to answer even basic questions like (a) what should be the minimum
graduates as extension workers or can one use less qualified people who are willing to
work in rural areas and who can establish their credibility. Experiments on involving
different agents in family welfare activities may throw some light on these aspects.
Induction Programme
Induction deals with the procedures of training people once they are taken up for a
particular role to familiarise with the organization, function, etc. Most organizations
available for workers of the PHCs and are conducted by various agencies including
regional family welfare training centres. Once on job, the doctors as well as para-
medical staff are exposed to the induction programmes. However they may not be
significant role in socializing the new incumbent to perform different function in the
43
organization. quite often the way the person different functions in the organization.
Quite often the way the person is inducted into the organization determines his
effectiveness later. If a person is taken into the organization and left completely free
without any guidance and instruction he may get lost. This often may affect his later
performance. The following questions could be raised when one looks at the existing
mechanisms of induction :
inducted into the work organizations ? How do they vary from role to role or
At present thee are no planned strategies of induction. This explains partly the poor
performance of workers. They get socialized by their senior only and in a completely
uncontrolled manner. Thus apathy and incompetence spreads. There is a need to design
Training
Training is the most important function that directly contributes to the development of
human resources. This also happens to be quite a neglected function in most of the
training indicate that a large number of organizations do not even spend 0.1 percent of
44
their budget on training. Many organizations do not even have a trading department. If
human resources have to be developed, the organization should crate conditions in which
people acquire new knowledge and skills and develop healthy patterns of behaviour and
Fortunately, training appears to have been fairly well attended to in government sector.
The systems and practices that were in operation a few months ago are no more
technologly deal with conceptual aspects, technical aspects, managerial aspects, as well
as human aspects. When such discoveries are being made if organizations do not have
mechanisms to cope with the and use growing technology they w2ill become stale.
Training is also necessary because any planned development of a person can contribute to
the effectiveness of the organization. However, such development cannot take place in
developing him in directions that raise his expectations with no opportunities for
application. A good training system would help greatly in monitoring the directions in
which employee should grow and envelop in the best interest of the organization. A
45
good training system also ensures that employees develop in directions congrument with
A good system of training starts with the identification of training needs. Such an
direction in which the individual should be trained and developed. On the basis of the
needs identified on the basis of performance appraisal would primarily become inputs for
Potential Appraisal : Training needs identified on the basis of potential appraisal would
become inputs for designing training programmes or work out training strategies for
developing the potential of a selected group of candidates who are identified for
performing future roles in the organization. The opportunities for such a thing are few in
Job rotation : Performing some roles several years might have the demodulating effect
46
maintaining the motivation of people. When such job rotation programmers are planned
training before the actual rotation is helpful. There are not many jobs into which family
planning staff could be rotated. However, planned and development based transfers
Continuous education : Besides those most of the training programmes that are
organized today aim at equipping the population mangers with new technology. These
training programmes attempt to help the mangers raise their present level of
effectiveness.
Organizing training programmes : After identifying the training needs the next step is
do design and organize training programmes. In larger organizations it is possible for the
In designing the training programme on the basis of the training needs the following
1) Wherever thee are sizeable number of people having the same training need, it
lot of costs. Besides, by having the group of people from the same work
place mutuality can be indicated in the trainees. The possibility of the trainees
applying whatever they have learnt is high as they have learnt it in a group
47
2) Whoever new systems have to be introduced and training is needed for a
organization. The reasons for these are similar to those mentioned above.
development.
to go out periodically for training workshops where they would have more
5) The training department should play a dynamic role in monitoring the training
told sufficiently in advance the reasons for sponsoring him and the
Most companies do not inform the individual why they have sponsored him
It is not always possible to get best category of employees for any organization. The
possibility of getting highly capable employees becomes still low in a sector like family
48
welfare where job security is low, future is uncertain, some social stigmas are attached,
for thee training programmes should flow from the job analysis and manpower
requirements. If people with adequate background and having adequate background and
having adequate capabilities are found training can be used as an instrumented to fill the
gaps.
Sawhney and Chauhan of the Population Centre, Lucknow studied the training
programme for ANMs for a period of two years. They examined the curriculum and
methodology adopted during the course. The study was conducted in eight ANM
training centres.
The curriculum was being groped under four sessions with the duration of six methods
each. One an average 60 to 70 hours being devoted on family planning during the entire
six months period. The ANMs were not clear about the details under each topic they
were taught. The centres were equipped to impart this training. The curriculum did not
meet their requirement’s The trainers as well as medical officers were not fully involved
A revised curriculum has bee prepared. In this special attempt was made to match the
contents with the prescribed job functions. The field work was also designed to be
conducted in small groups. The trainees were supplied background material in the form
of a book.
49
The revised programme was evaluated. The responses of 225 trainers out of 250 were
obtained. The revised training was assessed as more effective and suitable to their job.
The liking for outside speaker was expressed by a majority as the clarity of the subject by
the outside speakers were better than the centres’ tutors. 86 per cent could give the report
of field training. Family planning methods were found know to all the trainers. They
were of the opinion than the book on `Motivation Methodology’ should be supplied to
all. Some recommendations have been discussed for the improvement of the training
Deputy CMO to look into their administrative and technical problems, meetings to be
arranged in the filed training and efforts to be made to include more topics on family
A review of the literature on training health and family planning workers indicates that
available in this area. Such surveys, if conducted even on a sample basis are
administrators.
50
2) While too much of experimentation with training methods may not be
needed, some efforts should be made to try out new strategies and methods of
themselves.
Performance Appraisal
be one or more senior officers annually for his performance on some dimension and the
confidential form. Each employees is rated confidentially by one or more senior officers
annually for his performance on some dimensions and the confidential ratings are
employees does not know how his performance has been rated by his supervisors. A few
employees if their ratings are below a certain level and some organizations do not do
51
even this. Such practices have been found to result in the employees not getting to know
their strengths and weaknesses in relation to their capabilities to perform their roles
In the organizations where only poor performance below a level is feedback, the
employees do not get to know their strength and only get to know what is seen as their
weaknesses. Feedback has a tremendous motivational value (both positive and negative).
harping on the weak points) and help to the employing i analysing his strengths
weaknesses, success and failures. Even hen such negative feedback is given to the
employs in these organizations, they often perceive the feedback as condemning them, as
they are only told that their performance is poor. The entire responsibility for such poor
performance is placed on them and very little is done to help them understand why their
performance is considered poor and what opportunities are available to them for
improving over their weaknesses. Thus employees often get lost and demoralized with
such negative feedback. Bette performing employees also fee frustrated that their
performance is not recognised. Many do not even know how well they are doing.
do not grow, and start stagnating instead of multiplying. Human resources should grow
and multiply as people have tremendous capabilities for development, acquiring new
skills to perform new roles. Such development and multiplication of human resources is
52
not only good for the organization and the employees but also for the society as a while.
Performance appraisal is an effective instrument for helping people grow and help in
education and learning from one another. Through an well organised appraisal system
every employee can create learning speaks for himself in an organization. Recent
researches and experiences have shown that development oriented performance appraisal
1) Help the employees to overcome his weaknesses and improve over the
strengths and thus enable him to improve his performance and that of the
department.
53
4) Provide inputs to I) system of rewards comprising salary increments,
administration.
developing them.
employees.
the same time helping the organization in the management of people through rewards
etc.
to know anything about how they are being appraised. There are instances where
even after achieving higher level of targets, family planning workers got warning
letters due to the decision of higher authorities to send warning letters to all in a
particular year when the overall performance was low. Thus a very potential
Given the existing situation of lack of flexibility in rewards and salary administration,
there are series limitations for having an effective performance appraisal system.
54
Thus it may not be feasible to have a performance appraisal system that achieves all
the objective mentioned above, but it is possible to have a system that can take care of
most of these.
goals.
Management literature is full with articles and researches on appraisal systems. A review
of littérateur in the area of population management indicates that this is an area left
untouched. No attempt has been made to look at performance appraisal systems. This
55
may be partly because the performance appraisal systems in health and family planning
departments are the same as those in all government departments and programme
mangers have not perceived so far the potential of a good performance appraisal system.
for workers, awards and other forms of recognition etc. While there is not much of
activity happening in rewards and punishments thee were periods when different
strategies have been tried out by the programme administrators. For example, the
institution of `warding letters’ used in certain states is one such important activity.
Similarly instituting incentive schemes is another. Questions like the following need to
be answered.
workers, can there be any other incentives introduced to keep the moral of the
staff high ?
3) What should be the salary structure for the staff that provides scope for
56
Transfers
Transfer of the staff is a severe problem of human resource management in many states.
Transfers take place because staff have their own interest and attractions for certain areas.
At every possible opportunity employees try to get nearer toothier preferred places. Thus
there are severe pressures put on the programme administrators for transfers. The
transfers go on round the years and take a signification proportion of the time of
programme managers at district level and above. Besides taking way the time of the
important functionaries transfers also create serious disturbances in the field. Due to
1) The employee does not get enough time to understand his community,
establish rapport, plan and impalement his interventions. By the time heist
inducting staff socializing them. In this process the medical officers also get
4) They also create disbranches in the field in teams of people having to build
57
Such an important area like this has not been touched by researchers. There are no
develop a computer model for managing transfers was developed. This model requires
first streamlining the transfer policy, identifying variables that play a role in transfer,
assigning weightage, collection of information on all staff and then operating transfer
decisions. If computers are used a lot of unnecessary work and field disturbances could
be minimised.
Other Functions
As mentioned in the beginning there are four other functions on human resource
government systems. For example, there is no attempt made to help people through
feedback, through counselling through career planning and development and through
organizational development efforts to crate a positive climate. Therefore, these areas are
not presented in detail. An interested reader may consult the book on Designing Human
10.4 SUMMARY
This review of the work in human resource management indicates that this aspect has
been highly neglected by researchers in the past. No systematic thinking and planning
has gone behind the design of personnel policies in the health and population programme.
58
Thee is an urgent need to develop innovative processes and procedures for the
management of human resources. In a sector like this where employees are basically
dealing with human beings, if they themselves are not managed with understanding, their
appraisal mechanisms, etc. have not yet found their way into the population programmes
in India. There is an urgent need to tap this area as it may help solving several problems.
59
UNIT 11 HRD IN OTHER SECTORS (DEFENCE, POLICE, VOLUNTARY
Objectives
• What kinds of HRD activities and intervention would be relevant in such systems.
Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.7 Summary
1.9 References
60
11.1 INTRODUCTION
the special contextual factors which operate in these systems. In this unit, we narrow
down our focus to some special public systems to examine what HRD practices and
policies are in vogue and the priorities which face HRD as a function in these systems in
future. While there are many and varied government and public systems which can be
discussed e take up for discussion the specific cases of the defence sector, police
administration, panchayati raj institutions and local civil administration, and organization
HRD in the systems discussed in this section needs to be viewed in the context of the role
which the systems play in India. The comprehensive planned approach to national
development adopted after Independence, relies much on this role. Unlike in many
Western laissez faire societies, government and public systems in India have a prime role
political and historical context necessitates, a proactive, positive role of the State in order
that India can catch up with the progress which the developed nations have attained.
Accelerated development in necessary for us to achieve in a few decades what the West
61
A serious defect of the development strategies of many developing countries had been the
low level of administrative and managerial capability due to neglect of HRD creates
Public systems such as the police and local administration have been especially effected
by the high degree of social changes which have swept the country during the last decade,
increasing social and political strife have important implications for public administration
systems. They need to be flexible and respond quickly and effectively to changing
anticipate and cope with change,. In effect, public systems are called upon to play a more
The concept of HRD emphasises the need to create a positive and health climate in an
organization to enable its employees to increase their work motivation, initiative and
their work and derive achievement from goal fulfillment. Such a concept of HRD is
62
Organizationally, the defence sector represents one of the largest, most differentiated and
the common purpose of maintaining the security and integrity of the country can,
therefore, only be brought about when appropriate skills, attitudes and behaviours are
inculcated among people. Since there is a high degree of unpredictability in the events
which may call for action on the part of the defence services, people have to be kept
physically, mentally and morally prepared at all times. Preparing people involves
developing strategies and tactics, training officers and men in the latest techniques of
warfare and devising more and better methods of motivating them to ensure their
commitment to the objectives of the organization. Another factor which increases the
of personnel at any level of the hierarchy of the defence services. Unlike other
organizations, the defence services cannot fill vacancies by inducting persons from
requirements and for grooming people from the lower levels for positions at higher
levels.
December 1970 has augmented the process of development of the officers of the defence
services. It’s main aim is to prepare the officers to meet emerging personnel and
technological needs of the defence services and t hereby enhance the operational
63
(Lt. Cols, and above) of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and also civilians of equivalent
ranks, come for management training. The Institute has a department of HRD as a part of
the faculty of Organizational Behaviour. During the last 14 years, this department has
are:
self-study.
side of personality like values, attitudes and motives, as well as cognitive side
problem solving.
5) Improve their skill of making better use of human resource for increasing
organizational effectiveness.
Etc. It lays special emphasis on experiential learning which has proved very effective
64
The department of HRD has conducted certain very important and useful project in the
services. The recommendations of some of these have already been accepted and
Leadership Training in the Army is now an integral part of the training curriculum of
Army Cades Corps, Offices Training School, Indian Military Academy, Young School,
Young Officers; Course, Junior Commanders’ Course, and so on. Similarly, The HRD
department has contributed substantially in revising the appraisal system of the officers in
the NAVY as well as in the Army. It has also helped the Army and the Air Force in
With a view to popularizing the discipline of management sciences, IDM has brought out
A few yeas back the Indian Military Academy had introduced an Honour code for the
benefits of this cadets. IDM was called upon to have a re-look at it for facilitating its
implementation. That job was done by the HRD department of the IDM.
IDM is the premier institute of Management in the defence services. It has spread the
particular in all the three Services, that is Army, Nary and Air Force. As a result, all the
three services have made HRD a part of their existing training programmes, in one
manner or another.
65
The activities of the HRD department of IDM is probably a good example of a training
Like the defence services, police services are of strategic importance to the country. They
are necessary to protect the country from internal threats and to maintain the condition of
law and order without which no other organizations or individuals would be able to
function. Unlike the defence services however, the polices system in the country has
suffered considerable neglect, and this is especially with regard to human resource
development.
The Indian policy system was conveyed as early in 1861. It was remodeled in 1902.
Over the years, social commissions were instituted to examine the problems effecting the
police services. A study of police administration recently revealed that while there aware
some strengths like loyalty, dedication, job security and spirit de corps in the police
service, it also suffered from severe weaknesses due to excessive political interference,
corruption, and lack of open interaction among members.5 Among the recommendations
made for improving police administration were the restructuring of salaries and benefits,
better control and communication with the administration, and measures to improve
66
The absence of proper and integrated human resource systems, particularly training and
personnel and administration are seen to major impediments in the way of the proper
functioning of the polices services. Although training centres for many of the state police
forces do exist, these are often treated as “dumping grounds for unwanted staff”.7 A
working appear at a national seminar in 1986 at the Sardar Vallabhbahai Patel National
Policy Academy in Hyderabad pointed out to many problems with respect to recruitment,
training placement, promotion and other human resources and related functions. The
paper suggested the need for developing a systems approach to these problems to ensure
and forecasts
Career management
systems
67
Polices and systems for individual and collective grievance
handling, and
For many yeas the police administration was neglected and taken
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The rural situation in the country is still plagued with social and
and industrialistion.11
69
setting up of appropriate socio-policies institutional mechanisms.
organize village panchayati and endow them with such powers and
70
The role which panchyat raj easy expected to fulfill was :
constraints of development
well as the sate and national policy levels. However, there are at
71
1) For a long time, the leadership of the local panchayati raj
beginning to context.14
72
3) The absence of proper and adequate organizational
view, the major priorities for the success of panchayati raj and
73
3) Training and development in order to enable people
employment.
engaged in development.
mechanisms.
implementation of tasks.
One well recognized reality in India has been that the efforts of the
Year Plan document which stated that, “The Seventh Plan can be
……….”17
75
number of advantages which make them potentially effective
change agents. Being usually small in size, they are flexible and,
requirements.20
76
taken up a demonstration village. Unusual methods and approaches
the village, lived and worked with the rural folk, and in 10 to 12
77
villages and not for them. The SWRC established its centre right
in the village and started its work from the level in which the rural
poor were, recognizing the skills and resources that were available
in the villas. Together with the villagers, they worked one health
organizations.21
78
culture. While many voluntary organization begin with
79
characterized by a high degree of achievement orientation,
80
11.7 SUMMARY
of each sector.
81
11.8 CASE STUDY : HRD EXPERIMENTS IN ANKEAL22
Introduction
their objectives.
82
outlined for consideration in similar appropriate social context
elsewhere.
Background
83
Anekal and Thirty Villages
Banalogre City and part of the Ban lore district. Ankeal town is 35
km. from the city and borders on Tamil Nadu in the south. There is
and in spite of its proximity to the state capital industry, health care
attention.
84
The HRD Process
The HRD process initiated and tried out, and the development
process involving;
context.
human processes.
The Approach
need.
85
Initially they opted to run two clinks while simultaneously holding
care, nutrition and sanitary habits. These camps were mainly for
women.
voluntary agency could hand. The PD’s opted for one such unit of
86
Process of HRD Implementation
skill/expertise.
87
way to a “team” model. The team assumed all responsibilities for
PD’s.
88
Through a consultative process the PD’s obtained the endorsement
own. But one of the PD’s continued wither for one more week till
89
more and newer responsibilities. IN many cases she also became
simple remedies for ailments she also educated the people against
leprosy and TB, detected cases of mental disease at its onset. She
custody.
interventions’.
attended balwadi./
90
• people became aware of investment opportunities like the
Lessons
HRD Network, convinced the PD’s that unless proper HRD efforts
91
agents became clearer once a holistic approach to HRD was
to the process.
92
strengths and involve themselves as the architects of their
own development.
11.9 REFERENCES
9, 1983.
3) Ibid
pp. 15-16.
93
5) G. K. Valecha and S. Venkataraman “ “Improving
6) Ibiid.
p. 260.
8) Ibid, p. 261.
9) D. M. Silvera, Ibid
94
Asian Seminar on Rural Development (235-261), New
1667.
429-451.
95
19) K. C. D’ Souza : Organisation As Agents of Social
Delhi, pp 613-625.
96
UNIT 12 HRD IN SERVICE INDUSTRY
Objectives
for HRD
organizations.
Structure
Introduction
97
Important of HRD in the Service Sector
HRD in Education
Summary
Reference
12.1 INTRODUCITON
quarrying;
98
• the secondary or industrial sector comprising manufacturing
four sectors are examined: public sector banks the Life Insurance
Corporation of India, the health and family welfare sector, and the
education sector.
99
12.2 NATURE AND ROLE OF THE SERVICE SECTOR
are paid for, or they may be public benefits which are free or
the service sector increases. For instance, data show that from
100
1950-51 upto 1979-80, the share of the primary sector in India’s
that of the service sector during the same period increased fro
26%, during the same period, its relative contribution vis-à-vis the
etc. One of the fastest growing service sector in India has been the
education sector.
101
12.3 IMPORTANCE OF HRD IN THE SERVICE SECTOR
industrial sector, the service sector may be less labour intensive but
102
probably requires more human related skills and competencies.
103
effect- first by developing individual and deprived groups, and
Universal Aspects
104
HRD aims at developing the individual, matching him role roles,
105
systems become essential namely role analysis, career planning,
Unique Aspects
not proactively promote its service, the clients may take ether
break away from the mother orgnization and form new ones.
109
The commercial banks have performed spectacular growth after
ratio in the rural branches has gone up from 37.24% in June 1969
so as to enable the rural poor to cross the poverty line. The banks
110
also asset the weakest sections of the community under the
for weaker sections. The banks has also given indirect fiancé for
banks introduced Quality Circles for team building and work life
111
ground for developing analytical and decision-making skills for all
organizational renewal.
112
Communication was given added focus through interface by
113
Human Resources Development division in most of thee public
114
have also been taken in some banks to reassess staff requirement
public sector.
By and large, banks have come to recognise that HRD is more than
115
component of HRD. Therefore, other aspects of third system like
LIC.
116
Apart from the Central Office, The LIC ahs five Zonal Offices,
centres In the thirty-one year span time from 1957 until 1988.
strength grew from about 31,000 to about 73,000 in the same time
span.
117
condition of the area under the Branch jurisdiction for planning
• To provide human resource polices that are not only fair and
meaningful.
119
strategies were circulated among and disused with groups of
120
can also give the best if they are taken care of proper
competency enhancement.
professional development.
121
• that in order to be effective, HD processes have to be planned
and continuous.
HRD Intervention
his superior. The work plan which would indicate the specific
make in the next year, would also indicate what he would achieve
in the next three months and the following months and again six
122
months the manger would review the work first along and then
Northern Zone, there were demands from other Divisions that they
123
to introduce the scheme throughout the Corporation only after
necessary for its own sake and not merely as an instrument for the
subordinates (when they see that it may lead to their own growth in
124
development of persons and integrate in a different manner with
perform adequately for these new tasks that the proposed HRD
125
personnel would in the initial years, work in the Branches to
into the higher offices for specialisation info functional reaps. The
126
An interesting observation was the relationship between the
A persistent doubt was the distinction between the work plan of the
does not function alone but works with a groups of people. How
can the manger’s individual work plan be separated from the task
127
of building of a team. It needed considerable explanation to
develop and own its own work plan if the boss’priroty is different
world be difficult to ignore the priority of the boss but that may not
128
viewpoint and try to persuade the boss not to propose a priority
It was important the worth plan be not imposed but be that of the
The most common doubt was about how the WPR w3ould affect
the appraisal and the future of the mangers. The suspicion was that
129
failure to achieve one’s work plans would invite an adverse
the WPR would not be linked to the appraisal and reward system
mangers.
Existing practices are the reality which mangers are familiar with.
carefully monitored to ensure that all the steps are followed, vague
fears are patently doused, that the advances are perceived and
130
appreciated and there is no regression to past practices. This the
education.
132
As we go still higher up to the level of District Education Officer
for defend roles. As all these roles are equally important for the
roles
Training has been used most often as the only mechanism for
133
The limitations of training in developing complex capabilities has
educational institutions.
134
agencies. If there is no development climate and no pressure or
135
likely to address itself to this question of the linking of education
from the top. This change cannot come merely through training
136
There are some innovations going on in the country at various
dependent not only on his health, but the health of his family and
138
• Growth and development should generally result in the needs
to share.
and (4) who will evaluate the results in terms of the objectives.
139
• Involvement of the Target Group :
the community
outside
resources
problems
141
Action Programmes in health
142
to a person’s psychological make up. This results in emotional ill
enable a person to se through his defends and free his real creative
management personnel.
Most people will agree that family is a very important institutor for
143
Family is a very important buffer against a lot onslaughts of the
personal growth.
Parental Training
144
concerning the emotional growth of children are a must in
and women taking over jobs that were done by men earlier is
training camps.
children.
145
Conclusion
12.9 SUMMARY
This secton legal with a discussion of the nature and role of the
made with respect to HRD in public sector banks and in the Life
12.10 REFERNCES
1985, pp 46-48.
1978.
147
3) As cited by R. K. Sehgal : “ HRD for the Development of
4) M. B. Arthreya, op.cit.
Arithant, 1989.
148
9) Condensed and adapted forms. Madhuri, R. Sheth and S.
149
UNIT 13 COMAPRATIVE HRD : INTERNATIONAL
EXPERIENCES
Objectives
the world.
Structure
13.1 Introduction
13.9 Summary
13.10 References
13.1 INTRODUCTION
policies and economic realities. If this is so, then there are likely
much the same across the world. For instance, people everywhere
than of content.
This unit discusses HRD polices and practices and infant parts of
152
relevant in current times because of the dramatic changes taking
other countries.
which new HRD systems are being introduced is : “To what extent
153
well as academicians and researchers about the contextual
countries and that the ground rules under mangers operate are
154
for a common set of management strategies.3 Willialm Newsman
of Indian seculars have for long argued in favour of the need for us
IFFERENCES IN HRD
work life. Fourthly, the organisation has to ensure that its human
practices.
156
The major factors which account for differences in HRD practices
are :
Cultural factors
inequality;
domination etc.
157
India, for instance, was identified as a country in which there is a
Economic Factors
158
instance, in a mix socialist economy like outs, corporate polices
the economy. Other thins being equal, it appears that higher level
force whose HRD needs are different from the less educated, and
159
Socio-political Factors
about applying to workers the same HRD polices which they apply
160
Technological Factors
161
human relations or attitude development intervention to maintain
in different countries is, in the firs plea, about what HRD means
162
13.4 HRD IN NORTH AMERICA
are beyond the purview of the HRD manger. HRD is also seen
the present or the future. Thus, HRD has a narrow focus, primarily
Anent Negandhi point out, in the US, human resource planning and
processes.
salary administration.
164
of non-monetary incentives with supervisory and
South American countries range from the very small Eg. Cost
165
As Industrialisation called for the accelerated development of
166
workforce as well as to those who already employed, with a
for this purpose. There is hardly any country that does not have
169
and mangers several National HRD institutions such as Ghana
and Culture.
employment etc.
HRD programmes.
171
13.9 SUMMARY
172
13.10 REFERENCES
p. 129-143.
173
7) G.Hofstede : “Motivation, Leadership and Organization : Do
174
15) Largely drawn from V. K. Ramchandran : Human
26.29.
175
Indira Gandhi National Open University MS-
22
DEVELOPMENT
Block
UNIT 14
UNIT 15
UNIT 16
HRD/OD Approach to IR 34
UNIT 17
School of Management
Studies, IGNOU
COURSE PREPARATION TEAM
IGNOU
Director Jamshedpur
Ahmedabad
PRINT PRODUCTION
September, 2004
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All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by
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This block comprises five units. The first unit (Unit 14) presents a detailed
measure HRD climate. Unit 15 deals with rationale, objectives, mechanism and
operational aspects of HRD for workers and the role of unions therein. Unit 16
intervention may help inculcating and improving basic climate of trust for problem
solving resulting into better industrial relations. Unit 17 describes various ways in
the HRD staff. This unit also discusses the trends and issues relating to structuring
of HRD in Indian organisations. The last unit discusses in broader context the need
and priorities of HRD in organisations, building on earlier units, to present the
trends in perspectives and issues. It also discusses how the role of different agents
Objectives
Structure
14.1 Introduction
14.8 References
Appendices
14.1 INTRODUCTION
The HRD climate of an organisation plays a very important role in ensuring the
competency, motivation and development of its employees. The HRD climate can
itself. In the recent past simple instruments have been developed to measure the
HRD climate in organisations. These instruments are being widely used to assess
improve it. This unit presents a detailed conceptual background of the HRD
questionnaire to measure the HRD climate of his own organisation. Reader also
should take to achieve these goals come not only from formal control systems but
also through informal organization. Both the formal and informal structure
The term ‘climate’ is used to designate the quality of the internal environment
purpose, and the efficiency with which that purpose becomes translated into
constrain, and find out about each other. It influences morale and the attitudes of
Organisational climate has been a popular concept in theory and research for
sometime and has received a great deal of attention in the past 25 years. Guion
(1973) has stated that “The construct implied by the term ‘organisational climate’
may be one of the most important to enter the thinking of industrial psychologists
in many years”.
Twelve reviews of climate literature have appeared since the mid-1960s. Though
these reviews had been critical of the conceptualisation and measurement of the
which can be perceived about a particular organisation and/or its sub-systems, and
that may be induced in the way that organisation and/or its sub-systems deal with
their members and environment”. This definition implied that in the measurement
of organisational climate:
b) the level of inclusiveness of the items, scales and constructs are macro rather
than micro;
people can agree characterize a system’s practices and procedures. By its practices
and procedures a system may create many climates. People perceive climates
because the molar perceptions function as frames of reference for the attainment of
some congruity between behaviour and the system’s practices and procedures.
However, if the climate is one which rewards and supports individual differences,
people in the same system will not behave similarly. Further, because satisfaction
system tend to agree less on their satisfaction than on their description of the
system’s climate.”
actions
management
A second advance in climate research has its focus on multiple level of analysis.
A third advance has been the clarification of the distinction between psychological
climates and organisational climates. This distinction, first proposed by James and
Jones (1974), and further clarified by Jones and James (1979), has gained general
The fourth advance follows from the idea that people attach meaning to, or make
encounter thousands of events, practices and procedures and they perceive these
— A tendency at all levels starting from top management to the lowest level to
every manager/supervisor
through feedback
— Team spirit
Organisations differ in the extent to which they have these tendencies. Some
organisations may have some of these tendencies, some others may have only a
few of these and few may have most of these. It is possible to work out the profile
The elements of HRD climate can be grouped into three broad categories —
The general climate items deal with the importance given to human resources
development in general by the top management and line manager The OCTAPAC
items deal with the extent to which Openness, Confrontation. Trust, Autonomy,
organisation. The items dealing with HRD mechanisms measure the extent to
which HRD mechanisms are implemented seriously. These three groups were
effectively. Such supportive climate consists of not only top management line
towards development.
employees feel free to discuss their ideas, activities and feelings with each
other. Confrontation is bringing out problems and issues into the open with a
view to solving them rather than hiding them for fear of hurting or getting
hurt. Trust is taking people at their face value and believing what they say.
risks. Authenticity is the tendency on the part of people to do what they say.
work as teams.
The conventional connotation with which the term ‘climate’ has been used in
and , Abraham (1986). Perhaps it could be due to this reason that there is hardly
climate; the rest being common with the items included in organisational climate
HRD climate.
with large eigen value from among the 38 items is an indication of the factorial
The first factor accounts for 44.7% of variance of climate and nine factors explain
rotated using Varimax method and the results are presented in Table 2. (See
Annexure 1)
The Varimax method yielded three major dimensions or factors of climate which
culture and HRD , mechanisms (Rao and Abraham, 1986). This study points out
that the climate has the HRD mechanisms/instruments as the major dimensions.
between an item and the entire set of all the items in the questionnaire (Guy et. al
1987). The Cronbach Alphas related to each item of the questionnaire is presented
in Table 4. Since each alpha is large (greater than 0.80) it can be concluded that
the internal consistency of this questionnaire is acceptable and that all the items
proposed to be included in the questionnaire are necessary and dropping any one
To measure the HRD climate prevalent in any organisation, this questionnaire was
average of the responses of all the managers is taken as item score for the
organisation. Average of all the scores of all the items is taken as the HRD
climate.
Several Indian organisations were surveyed for their HRD climate and data was
collected from 2673 respondents from 52 organisations and the results of which
It is interesting to note that the average extent of climate prevalent in all the 52
organisations is about 54% which is rather low. To see which components are
favourable and which are not, an item-wise analysis is conducted and results are
discussed below.
The following are the items with respect to which the HRD climate is not
a) Top management goes out of its way to make sure that employees enjoy their
b) There are mechanisms in the organisations to reward any good work done or
c) Employees are encouraged to experiment with new methods and try out
e) Employees in this organisation take pains to find out their strengths and
without having to wait for instructions from supervisors (Item No. 30).
employees can save a lot of their mental energy for work purposes (Item No.
37).
The following are the items with respect to which the HRD climate is favourable,
important resource and that they have to be treated more humanly (Item No.
2).
b) People in this organisation are helpful to each other (Item No. 9).
c) Promotion decisions are based on the Suitability of the promotee rather than
assessment and adequate information and not on favouritism (Item No. 17).
e) When employees are sponsored for training, they take it seriously and try to
f) Employees are not afraid to express or discuss their feelings with their
Thus it appears that there is a gap between belief and practice, at the top
management level, namely, though the top management believe that human
resources are their most important asset, and yet they do not seem to do much in
developing their human resources. Except for promotion decisions, the reward
organisations spend huge amounts of money on training and the employee also
take their training seriously, the organisations dc not seem to be making any effort
to make effective use of the investments made in training the employees by not
assigning them the tasks related to the areas in which they are trained.
It is rather strange to note that HRD climate is open enough for the employees to
discuss their feelings with their superiors, yet the employees are reluctant to accept
the feedback given by their superiors and use it for their development. This
indicates that the organisations are creating a climate for openness insofar as
creativity and encouraging any initiative on the part of the employees to perform
“It is surprising that, in general, the top management is not seen as going out of its
way to make sure that employees enjoy their work (Item No.1 of the
questionnaire). Several of the items for which the average is less than 50% (for
example, Item Nos. 19, 25, 30, 35 and 37) together with the items for which the
average is more than 60% (for example, Item Nos. 9, 24 and 28) indicate that the
employees, in general, seem to be ‘I am OK, you are not OK’ type. A high score
for Item No.2 (the top management believes that human resources are an
extremely important resources and that they have to be treated more humanly)
indicates that the organisations seem to convey to the employees of their’ good
intentions’. However, the fact that 41 out of 52 organisations have their climate
scores less than 60% indicates that the top management are yet to convince their
employees of their ‘good intentions’ in deed. The only positive trend appears to be
objectives.
Table 3 points out that proactivity and autonomy are among the major significant
averages (less than 50%) in practice. The items related to other significant
scope for further improvement of climate in the organisations. In fact the overall
is interesting to note that none of these distributions, when plotted, are flat. This
means that there are no contradictions in the climate prevalent in the organisations.
It may be possible that the HRD practice in these respondent organisations is still
in primitive stages and hence the climate is in the process of being built up and
explicit investigation to establish the cause for prevalent position should be carried
out and action if necessary be taken to ensure a favourable shift to the climate.
suggestions from the subordinates are some of the dimensions that contribute
policies that emphasise a collaborative attitude and trust among the people go
the part of HRD and personnel people plays a very critical role in generating
the HRD climate. If the personal behaviour of any of these agents is not
climate. If line managers are willing to spend a part of their time for their
14.8 REFERENCE
Abraham, E, ‘HRD Climate in Banks’ in Anil Khandelwal (ed.), HRD in Banks,
Guy, R.F.,. C. E.. Edgley, I. Arafat, and D. E. Allen, Social Research Methods,
255-280.
James, L.R. and A.P. Jones, Organisational Climate: A Review of Theory and
Rao, T.V. and E. Abraham, ‘HRD Climate in Indian Organisations’, Rao and
Rao, T.V. and E. Abraham, ‘HRD Practices in Indian Industries: A Trend Report’,
Management and Labour Studies, Vol 11, (2), April, 1986, pp. 73-85.
Schneider, B., Organisational Climate: An Essay, Personnel Psychology, 1975, 28,
444-479 .
and Slocum
Structure
Rewards (2)
Clarity (5)
making (3)
(17)
(3)
standards
Feedback (3)
Suppertive HRD
Openness&
communication
(5)
Trust (2)
Team spirit(2)
Collaboration (4)
Autonomy(3)
*not complete
Comparison of Different Climate Questionnaires with HRD Climate
Questionnaire
APPENDIX-II
Designation Date
Any organisation that would like to be dynamic and growth oriented has to pay
dynamism and growth. In the recent Past, mechanisms like performance, appraisal,
the success of these programmes. This survey is to find out the extent to which
As these profiles may form the basis of your organisation taking further steps with
organisation. Please give your assessment of the HRD climate in your organisation
by rating your organisation on each statement using the 5-point scale. A rating of 5
indicates that the statement is almost always true with your organisation; a rating
of 4 indicates that the statement is mostly true; a rating of 3 indicates that the
statement is sometimes true; a rating of 2 indicates that the statement is rarely true
and rating of indicates that the statement is not at all true about your organisation.
1) The top management of this organisation goes out of its way to make sure that
12345
5) The top management is willing to invest a considerable part of their time and
10) Employees in this organisation are very informal and do not hesitate to
11) The psychological climate in this organisation is very conducive for any
skills. 12345
12) Seniors guide their juniors and prepare them for future responsibilities/roles
13) The top management of this organisation makes efforts to identify and utilise
on favouritism. 12345
15) There are mechanisms in this organisation to reward any good work done or
16) When an employee does good work/his supervising officers take special care
18) People in this organisation do not have any fixed mental impressions about
19) Employees are encouraged to experiment with new methods and try our
21) When any employee makes a mistake his supervisors treat it with
understanding and help him to learn from such mistakes rather than punishing
way.
12345
22) When behaviour feedback is given to employees they take it seriously and use
23) Employees in this organisation take pains to find out their strengths and
24) When employees are sponsored for training, they take it seriously and try to
25) Employees returning from training programmes are given opportunities to try
26) Employees are sponsored for training programmes on the basis of genuine
28) Employees are not afraid to express or discus their feelings with their
superiors.
12345
29) Employees are not afraid to express or discuss their feelings with their
subordinates. 12345
30} Employees are encouraged to take initiative and do things on their own
32) When seniors delegate authority to juniors, the juniors use it as an opportunity
34) When problems arise people discuss these problems openly and try to solve
them rather than keep accusing each other behind the back. 1 2 3 4 5
35) Career opportunities are pointed out to juniors by senior officers in the
organisation. 12345
36) The organisation’s future plans are made known to the managerial staff to
help them develop their juniors and prepare them for future. 1 2 3 4 5
37) This organisation ensures employee welfare to such an extent that the
employees can save a lot of their mental energy for work purposes. 1 2 3 4 5
.
Annexure 1
variance variance
1 4,5,13,36,37
2 15,19,22,24,25,26,30
3 67,20,21,35
Annexure 2
13 .9486 26 .9490
Annexure 3
13 3.16 26 3.14
Annexure 4
1 8 20 21 7 4 0
2 0 1 5 16 18 12
3 0 1 9 15 20 7
4 1 3 18 16 11 3
5 0 5 20 13 8 6
6 0 4 14 23 7 4
7 0 5 20 19 6 2
8 0 6 12 22 9 3
9 0 1 2 8 25 16
10 0 2 3 22 20 5
11 0 0 5 28 12 7
12 1 2 14 20 10 5
13 1 3 13 20 10 5
14 0 3 5 17 13 14
15 4 12 16 10 6 4
16 0 2 7 25 12 6
17 0 0 9 16 13 14
18 1 3 18 23 7 0
19 4 8 15 12 11 2
20 1 1 3 20 19 8
21 1 0 5 26 10 10
22 1 7 17 19 7 1
23 2 24 15 8 1 2
24 0 3 3 15 21 10
25 4 15 14 13 2 4
26 0 7 11 18 9 7
27 0 2 3 20 19 8
28 0 0 6 17 20 9
29 0 1 7 25 14 5
30 1 5 19 21 6 0
31 0 4 13 19 13 3
32 0 0 4 21 20 7
33 1 1 12 21 11 6
34 0 0 16 22 10 4
35 0 12 18 15 4 3
36 1 6 18 14 7 6
37 0 12 15 15 7 3
38 5 9 14 12 3 9
Organisations
Objectives
Structure
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Rationale of HRD for Workers
15.7 Summary
15.1 INTRODUCTION
The scholarly and managerial interest in the field of HRD seems to have occurred
only for over a decade now. A number of initiatives have been taken both by
scholars and managers to propagate the values of HRD and initiate HRD systems
in many companies both public sector and private sector. Most of the published
work on HRD in public and private sector focuses on use of HRD instruments like
developing managerial resources. HRD for workers has been attempted only in a
limited way and that too only recently. In recent years, the need for HRD for
workers has been echoed both by professionals as well as academicians. While the
need for HRD for workers is voiced at different levels, there is very little that has
been done in this area. There can be several reasons for such a trend:
b) Workers’ constituency is a stormy area and any effort for HRD for workers
resource in any organisation and therefore any neglect to develop and nurture this
resource is likely to produce counter-productive results. It is also felt that for long,
workers have been treated as property of trade unions and in the process they are
alienated from management. Research has revealed the workers feel equally
alienated from trade unions which over the years, have developed into an
and unions have in general concentrated on their role as a protest organisation and
have done pretty little in the area of development for workers. Many managements
their obligations under labour laws and are not willing to examine the possibilities
of going beyond statutory requirements and allocate resources for growth and
developmental issues.
HRD for workers is quite different in content and processes than perhaps HRD for
managerial staff. For example, some basic education and training has to be taken
for granted in any HRD effort for managers but the same may not be the case
static group in the sense of their knowledge and skills. Within workers group there
are different categories of workers like skilled workers, semi-skilled workers and
un-skilled workers and each of these categories may require a different HRD
input.
workers of different sectors. They are likely to be different in their meaning and
content. For example, agriculture workers, construction labour etc. will require a
different kind of HRD effort to give them basic sustenance level unlike their
level and for them the meaning and content of HRD would be much different.
inadequate and their impact in the organisational growth and development will be
marginal unless the developmental efforts are directed to cover all sections of
employees. Even the most developed managers would find it difficult to achieve
force. If competent and qualified managers could alone run the organisation,
organisational efforts are directed to develop this resource to unleash the latent
potential in them, the organisation will bloom with energy. In many organisations,
specially service organisations like banking, 80% of first level officers come from
the ranks. In several other organisations, 40-50% of their first line executives
Several developments having long term consequences are taking place which
require increasing attention to develop the workers. Some such developments are:
In a developing country like ours, public sector has come into being as a major
and other category like physically handicapped and representations from religious
minority groups. This makes use of HRD much more imperative as each group has
its own assumption about the other and biases and prejudices based on
consideration of caste, sex, language and religion calls for much more integrated
Modern industrial worker is today much better compensated than perhaps, his
brethren in other sectors. But his needs are now changing. Together with this, the
new worker has desire to have a say in organisational matters. The continued
them.
Technological Change
The technological changes are forcing organisations to adopt new structures and to
upgradation will make it imperative for organisations to prepare workers with new
skills and attitudes to cope with changes. Recent spurt in computerisation calls for
training, retraining and job shifting for workers. They also need confidence to
Apart from this, organisations must find ways to involve the whole person in the
job so that work and life are related more meaningfully. In this context, it should
viewed with a sense of satisfaction. Therefore, the rationale and need for HRD for
Definition
HRD for workers is a process by which the workers are helped in a continuous and
and
d) develop confidence initiative and entrepreneurship.
One result of development should be to realise the potential of people and help
them to realise the various resources they have at their command — resources of
Objectives
d) Participation.
HRD for workers should increase the power of those who have traditionally been
As mentioned earlier, the focus, direction, content and mechanisms for HRD have
to be different for workers than for managerial staff. This is because of the job
etc. cannot be replicated for workers who at a particular stage of their development
may have limited utility for these mechanisms. It would be difficult to propose that
workers as a group will have common needs for development because in different
sectors, the focus and direction of HRD for workers may be different. Following
with considerable success. These mechanisms are merely illustrative and not
exhaustive as there may be many more ways to develop workers. All these
Training
focused-not only on job skills, but inter-personal skills, collaborative skills and
team building skills. Besides this, skills in problem solving and self-management
are also required. Routine training programmes for upgrading only technical
competence of workers have limited value for overall growth and personality
workers’ education with the objective of developing strong and more effective
trade unions through better trained officials and more enlightened members.
The National Commission on Labour had proposed to improve the scheme in view
of several gaps in the existing scheme. One of the main lacunae of this scheme has
been that its entire focus has been to develop trade union leadership rather than
The effort in training has to be basically an institutional effort, depending upon the
industry. More often it is presumed that technical training by itself will create
alround competence amongst workers but that would be taking a narrow view.
skills to help them in improving quality of their life in general. Some Indian
companies have done excellent work in this area, particularly Petrofils, (Baroda)
been producing at more than 100% of its licenced capacity from the initial
stage Amongst many other experiments being made by the HRD section in the
Objectives:
thinking.
industrial set-up.
individual.
Improvements achieved:
mistakes.
(b) At home
Industrial Relations:
Training had a positive effect on shop floor IR, as well as overall company-
decrease in misconduct. .
Counselling
help them learn from their own mistakes. The counselling effort needs to be well
Timely counselling can help avoid many conflict situations and eventually help
workers both in their personal and job life. Many Indian companies have trained
counsellors, who work full time and extend counselling services to workers.
Larsen and Toubro, and Voltas are two companies in private sector who have
Counselling services may be extended to the personal and family life of workers.
Counselling to help a worker to plan the careers of his own children can have high
motivational value.
large scale engineering products both in India and abroad. Over the years it
has enjoyed the enviable status of a market leader in many industrial products.
about it. The Voltas believe that alcoholism amongst the employees is a
management problem..
amongst employees.
e) No promotions )
With the increasing realisation that alcoholism is an illness and not a moral
week.
Besides, active involvement of alcoholic family was sought. Help was taken
acceptance, the response given and the positive results in next few years have
34 9 51 94
Participation
growth of workers and also all round growth of companies. Pitiably, however, not
much has either been initiated or achieved in this direction. Partly the problem is
rivalry adds to the problem. In this atmosphere, the employers have mostly played
findings reveals that worker director scheme even in white collar industry like
banks have hardly created any positive climate in industrial relations. One of the
important reasons for the cynicism amongst employers about any participation
Steel Tubes of India Ltd. set up in 1959 as a small scale company was taken
such tubes in India. Steel Tubes India group’s turnover is close to Rs. 100/
crores.
For an Indian entrepreneur the steps, taken by the Chairman and Managing.
Director of Steel Tubes of India Ltd. (STI) are radical and path finding. They
reflect an attitude of genuine concern and regard for the views; criticism and
good faith of the employees who have given their best to the fast growing
great degree of involvement. The HRD Department itself partakes all the
with more than 3 years service in the company. Such a nomination from the
Joint Committee is binding on the management and the person gets a three
workers’ representatives from different grades. The later are elected not by
member of separate grades, but by the entire work force. The Joint
and the company workers who have been declared best workers of the year for
the last 7 years, people who have 20 years of service in the company, senior
members put across their views and thrash out problems. Janasabha’s
worker can take on the Chairman and his criticism is taken in good faith.
The free access and responsiveness built into the company’s ethos through
democratic forums, perhaps explains the indifference of the work force to the
Employee Welfare
The issues related to welfare are very much germane to the overall development of
workers, both their physical being and psychological being. Employee welfare
organisation in the long-run. In a highly inflationary economy like ours, the wages
are barely adequate for day-to-day sustenance of workers. Unless adequate welfare
programmes exist in the form of educational subsidies, health and medical benefits
etc. workers are likely to languish at the present level and quality of their life is
likely to suffer. What is required in welfare programmes is the concern and the
welfare programmes. Most welfare programmes for industrial workers are in the
form of statutory labour laws. It is indeed a sad commentary that many employers
especially in small sector have been flouting even the statutory requirements and
many other employers are not willing to look into the aspects of labour welfare
in consonance with the emerging needs of workers. Tata Iron and Steel Co.
(TISCO) is the finest example of pro-active initiative on the part of house of Tatas.
In the field of labour welfare , they have introduced almost all the welfare schemes
like eight-hour working day, free medical aid, schooling facilities for children,
leave with pay, provident fund scheme, workmen compensation scheme, medical
benefit, profit sharing benefit, retirement gratuity etc. much before the statutes
came into force. In recent years TELCO, Pune has initiated many innovations in
welfare programmes.
Over the years, TELCO, Pune has developed many innovative programmes
Societies. There are 7 such societies employing more than 700 persons and
school going children of the employees, Education Trust, Cultural Forum and
Housing Co-operatives.
classes, terry making, charka and tape, mason training, motor mechanic
training, typing and shorthand training etc. etc.), games and sports, cultural
For overall development of workers, only good wages and service conditions are
not adequate. Equally important is the environment in which they work. This
lighting and safety and general aesthetic atmosphere in the organisation. Quality of
work life is focused generally on these aspects and also on other motivational
performance of jobs and the very nature of the work etc. Very little systematic
work has been done in the area of quality of work life. One good initiative was
taken by a public sector undertaking Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) some
Thermal/Hydro and nuclear power plants. In one of its units (Hardwar) “Job
pursued for about 4 years and very encouraging results were obtained,
a) Very satisfying job due to increased variety and relief from boredom and
monotony.
b) Personal Growth for all by learning additional skills of other fronts and
Quality Circles
In last few years, many companies, both in private sector and public sector have
experimented with Quality Circle and the results are very encouraging. In fact,
the grass root levels. This also unleashes the latent potentials of workers in the use
HMT etc. and some service organisations like banks have experimented with
Bharat Electronics Ltd. was established in 1954 and since then it has made
made to upgrade technology and develop new projects. Quality and reliability
have been and continue to be the prime concerns of the management. The
present work force is 19,000 and turnover during 1985-86 was Rs. 2,198
millions.
long-run strike and lock out in 1981. The BEL management introduced
Quality Circle Movement at its Bangalore unit or enhancing the morale of the
those areas which affect them and in which they have expertise.
Over the years, the Quality Circle Movement has helped the company to
perform at its peak. As of December, 1986, it had 358 Circles covering 2864
1) The rejection rate of BEL 7008 magnetron was reduced from 43 to 12 per
cent.
cent.
inspection areas.
9) Design and usage of test jigs saved 88.45 per cent of inspection time.
moulding tools.
For details please see Q.C. at BEL by Mr. S. Prabhala in Quality Circles by B.L
Maheshwari.
Grievance Mechanism
many a times, individuals are not encouraged to put-forth their grievances and the
only mechanism to deal with workers grievance is through trade unions. Absence
TISCO
Issues of policy and interpretation of policy are discussed only at the top
management level. The Union, however, has the right to take up such matters
at the Central Works Committee. Those cases which are pending with the
Works Committee are not discussed at any other level unless the case is
Scope
letter.
Stage I
The employee should discuss it with his shift-in-charge or an equivalent. In
cases of appeal against punishment, the employee should meet his general
and submit it to the general foreman who should immediately give the
acknowledgement receipt, should make the necessary enquiries and return the
form with his remarks or those of the departmental head within two days. If
the case requires reference to higher authorities, the time limit may be relaxed.
Stage II
If the employee is still dissatisfied with the decision, he can appeal to the head
receiving the reply from the general foreman. Cases of suspension may be
stage I.
The departmental head will pass an order within three working days.
Stage III
If the employee is not satisfied with the decisions at Stage II, he can appeal to
Grievance Form III within a week of the reply at Stage II. Appeals against
Works Committee within six weeks of the receipt of the orders of discharge or
dismissal. Based on the Committee’s unanimous recommendations to which
decide the case within ten days of the receipt of such a recommendation. The
executive order, shall be the final decision on the matter. Where their
recommendation is not unanimous the Zonal Committee will refer the matter
The mechanisms described above are not the only mechanisms for development of
workers.
monetary issues like wages and service conditions and have generally ignored the
orientation.
workers are received with cautious suspicion by the trade unions response of
unions to HRD is generally sceptical. The fears and anxiety of trade unions seems
— Sincere and genuine HRD efforts for workers is likely to create a contended,
workers it is further likely that the trade unions impact will be diluted.
— Workers development may lead to his need to assert and participate in the
union affairs. This itself may not be in the interest of the union leadership who
want to hang-on to positions of power and authority. This explains the present
manpower crisis in many trade unions which are headed by ageing and retired
union activists.
implications, training and development etc. Too much identification with the
management itself may invite criticism from the rank and file. It may also
reduce their bargaining power with the management while discussing ‘‘Bread
policies and HRD to keep unions out from the companies, itself contribute to
the anxiety and fears of the union about possible shift of workers loyalty from
unions to management.
In any HRD effort for workers, it is very necessary to deal with the above fears,
anxieties and dilemmas of the trade unions. Continuous interaction with trade
unions at the HRD planning stage itself is required. In the present climate of
industrial relations in India, it is desirable that HRD efforts for workers are
discussed with unions and their involvement is sought. One may legitimately ask a
workers should at all resist the HRD overtures of the companies? To answer this
question we need to look at the mistrust that exist in many organisations between
trade unions and employers. It is therefore necessary that some basic minimum
trust should exist between trade unions and employers before trade unions accept
HRD and willingly participate in any HRD programme and policies for workers.
They need to be given confidence that HRD initiatives for workers do not aim at
changes. An important but less visible challenge to trade unions lie in the heed to
respond to the diverse sets of expectations and aspirations of workers. They arc
trapped between the factors calling for change and forces opposing the change.
Unions can play I important roles in setting the stage, designing and participating
representational role in the organisation. Over a period these efforts are likely to
build higher involvement of the employees, create more satisfaction and give
Initiation of HRD
Unions should focus attention to the workers development. In fact unions should
be HRD Departments for the workers and the unions leader HRD Manager. Where
take’- up HRD issues relating to workers with the management. It is not necessary
Communication
Unions have an important HRD role in communicating with workers almost on
continuous basis about the industry in which they work. Sometimes unions do not
they (unions) know about it. Perhaps, they too under-estimate the capacity of the
conditions related issues. Workers too want to know about the goals missions,
They also want to know more about their own union. Improved communication
Counselling
Unions can playa very positive role in providing counselling services to workers.
workers continue to indulge in these evils. In the process, they loose even their
not enough. Unions, can playa pro-active role in preventing such instances to
their active cadres with suitable professional help or even arrange for professional
work skills add process or human skills. The latter would include skills of
capacity of organising groups. The work skills would include skills to do new
jobs, new projects. This would call for intensive education and development effort
Welfare
necessarily a dynamic one. Real HRD for workers would mean continuous
welfare schemes where possible with the help of management and focus on long
term benefit to worker rather than short term pecuniary gains. Unions at least the
bigger ones with adequate resources should initiate welfare programmes for the
innovative schemes like workers co-operatives, workers bank, nursery schools for
the children of workers, vocational skills to the children of workers etc. which
and career of their children. Today a worker may get good amount of money, he
may want to provide good schooling to his children but he may not know what to
do and how to do it? Unions should help providing such service to workers.
Unions can also provide conciliation service in family quarrels. Union can also
Research
workers needs, aspirations, development needs etc. the unions should sponsor
(where they can afford it) appropriate research projects. They can also seek
In order to play the above roles effectively, trade unions must professionalise. This
will mean HRD within the unions. For long trade unions have ignored developing
union leadership. This has strongly served the cause of vested interests a who want
frictions. This also deprives the union of new thinking, new approach etc. New
role for the unions will have focus on improving the psychological well-being of
the workers. Traditionally unions have been focussing on the economic well-being
of the workers and have built certain roles to achieve that. The new developmental
role will require several new skills in the union leadership to enable them to play
Bargainer Explorer
Negotiator Trainer
Agitator Counsellor
Game-player Motivator
Black-mailer Facilitator
problems.
and trade-unionists like Khandubhai Desai, Gulzari Lal Nanda and S.R.
In a recent interview with the author: Mr. Naveen Chand Barot, President,
TLA’s 200 full time employees and equal number of part time workers help in
conducting number of activities for workers. Some of the TLA’s activities are:
TLA runs 35 Nursery classes in labour areas and also maintains 60 Libraries
and 40 Reading rooms. It has its own printing press. The Vasavada Labour
and Activists. A need to educate Women and Children was felt as early as in
1920s.
Female teachers are trained to set-up nursery schools in their areas. Apart
from this, TLA runs classes in knitting, sewing, TV/Radio repair. Interestingly
a Workers son teaches TV repairing. So far, about 250 of workers sons and
daughters have become Engineers/Doctors with the effort of TLA in one way
or the other. TLA also runs the Girls Hostel to accommodate over 100 girls of
SC/ST community.
TLA runs a maternity home. About 150 patients are attended everyday. In the
women.
workers. Mrs. Ela Bhatt organised self-employed women and formed self-
Apart from the above, the TI.A runs a co-operative Bank with a paid up
capital of 15 lakhs.
About the role of trade unions in HRD, Mr. Barot says, Trade unions in India
group of people.
15.7 SUMMARY
In a country like India, there is a vast reservoir of latent talent in workers which if
i) Discuss how HRD for workers is different than HRD for managers.
ii) Discuss the rationale and objectives of HRD for workers in India.
iv) Discuss the possibilities of new HRD mechanisms for workers in industrial
v) Discuss how the seven HRD mechanisms suggested in this unit contribute to
Khandelwal Anil K., 1987, HRD for Workers—Role of Trade Unions in the book -
Khandelwal Anil K., 1988, HRD In Banks, Oxford IBH Publishing Co., New
Delhi. Mamkoottam, K., 1982, Trade Unionism: Myth and Reality, Oxford
(NIPM), Bombay.
Objectives
Relations.
Structure
16.1 Introduction
16.9 Summary
16.12 Annexure
16.1 INTRODUCTION
indiscipline etc. Terms like Conflict, Power, Litigation and Legislation are often
short term solutions of critical business situations. The reasons for this are not
suffers from lack of planning, absence of policies and strategies and short of any
long term perspective. Little wonder that IR is more or less seen as a business
nuisance. The fact of the matter however, is that the continuous neglect of IR
function ,by corporate top management and planners have only created more
For too long employees have been considered as property of unions and this,
individuals and in general building employee oriented personnel policies. This has
While on one side the IR scenario has been deteriorating, the academic upsurge
individuals. For about more than one decade the HRD movement covered mainly
considered as different functions and there has been little attempt both by
in a pro-active manner.
The exclusion of role of collective bargaining and unions from the main stream of
emphasise the study of relationship between labour and management through the
collective bargaining process (Strauss 1977, 1978 : Strauss and Feville 1978)*.
Management.
Table I
Development
It has its orientation from Economy, Sociology It has its roots in Psychology.OB
etc.
and law.
and
Psychological.
Change constrained by legal and other external Main focus on internal factors for
managing change
factors.
Conflict at the core of IR and is Conflict need not be counter productive and
* Seeks power advantage for bargaining and Seeks power equalisation for
Trust and
computation. collaborations.
resources.
and intrinsic
*These terms are taken from Human Resources Management: The Integration of
Spector. In Research in Personnel and HRM. Vol. II pages 261-298 Jai Press Inc.
_________________________
*Taken from the paper ‘HRM: The integration of IR and OD Michael Beer and
Spector. In Research in Personnel and HRM, Vol. 2. Pages 261.291, Jai Press Inc.
In order to understand the synthesis between HRD/OD and IR in this unit, we shall
certain contexts, an ideology which binds the IR system together and a body of
rules created to govern the actors at the place of work and work community. The
Clegg (1974) have argued that behavioural variables cannot be dismissed while
studying IR.
Another set of theorists belonging to marxist school consider conflict as the focal
point of IR. They see a situation of irreconciable conflict between social class, the
division being between those who own the means of production and those who do
Later theorists like Allan Fox (1964) and Margarison (1969) propounded that it is
the parties in IR have many interests, standards and values in common which they
either bring to IR from the wider society or develop once they are involved in IR.
organisational culture which fosters team work and collaboration. The typical
Organisation Development
organisation culture— with special emphasis on the culture of formal work teams
with the assistance of a change-agent or catalyst and the use of theory and
Bell).
people and organisation were managed differently rather than on what actually
After defining IR and HRD/OD let us now see the linkages between the three.
interests of the organisation as well as that of the working class. There are several
organisations that had their employees in the forefront in all their thoughts and
plans.
interests, of the labour and management in a balanced way. All of them involve
dealing with people-the focal persons and groups are different. For HRD the focus
is every individual, for OD, the focus is teams and the organisation as a whole. For
dynamics of human; processes are similar. There is a lot that HRD/OD can
section below.
which are normally static and ate based on safety of law, caution, and fear for
business. Futility of perpetual fire fighting and conflict with unions are now too
visible.
Pressures for changes are leading to an integration of two fields that in past have
been separate and sometimes even opposite. Several changes in the environment
and technology are forcing both management and unions to re-evaluate their
Solving mechanisms. Some of the changes that are relevant both for management
unemployment.
2) The new worker is causing anxiety to both management and unions. To the
bothers little about traditional authority. Unions are concerned because the
orientation in the unions. Workers apathy towards trade unions is now well
documented. .
performance.
Research has revealed that “Trust” between the parties (Union and Management)
is the single most important feature in creating good industrial relations (Pureell
1981). This trust building has several dimensions. Where management and unions
share the Common ideology; the level of trust is high. Similarly personal equation
and Union also contribute to building trust. The high trust behaviour is reflected
by the legitimacy granted to the role of the other party against low trust response
which attempts to limit by means of prescriptive rules, the discretion of the other
The HRD/OD methodology can help identifying the key factors both in
The success experiences in some companies both in India and abroad for using
hierarchical levels) and the key government officials concerned with these
aspects. .
for:
O — Openness P— Pro-action
C — Confrontation A—Autonomy
T — Trust C —Collaboration
A — Authenticity
Competencies Building
vital, because the atmosphere, values, style and tempo of the organisation are set
by the top man and is senior colleagues. One day-to-day level, he does this by his
actions, prominence, edicts and queries. Any chief executive exerts substantial
the union is negative and his belief system about people in general is, hostile, it
Not much work has been done to analyse the impact of chief executive styles on
IR. There are some examples here and there where succession at the top was
created IR problem. Similarly there are several examples where the top man has
given increasing attention to people’s activities, and the consequent impact on the
himself on saying, “I do not feel I can delegate the responsibility of the personnel
function. Somebody has got to be spending 40 hours a day and 10 days a week
thinking about the needs of the people who work here”. His belief system and
philosophy about People is well reflected in his assertion. “In big organisations
Those people over there are tellers, those are managers, those are officers, these
are grade 15s, these are grade 20s, these are grade 30s, and so on. The names are
business.
in the organisation;
industries etc.
ii) Skills
c) Skills in negotiations;
d) Inter-personal skills.
iii) Attitudes
At Union Level
interactions and quality of life. The development at this level should also involve
micro issues like workers apathy; democratisation within trade unions; manpower
i) Competencies
ii) Skills
personnel;
c) Leadership skills.
iii) Attitudes
b) Problem solving.
Development of Process
At managerial level there should be a clear understanding that processes are more
important than contents for trust building in the union management relationship.
Process means the ‘How’ aspect. For example, the question such as how decisions
are arrived at, whether through consultation or orders from the bosses or whether
process aspect of problem solving and negotiations i.e. how negotiations are
conducted, how information is shared with the union, how confrontations are
resolved, how goals are set in the organisation etc. The goal is to understand each
other to be more honest in expressing their feelings and more care for the feelings
does not yield result. There needs to be proper understanding especially in the
management about tools of diagnosis that can yield dependable results and
developing skills in key managerial personnel concerned with I R about the use of
diagnostic frame for solving IR. After diagnosis of the problem suitable
making, and consequential delays, the need is clearly for structural re-
organisation. But if the diagnosis reveal that there is low morale amongst any
group and there are role ambiguities amongst various functionaries, it will be
in the Table 2.
Work Redesign.
Job Enrichment.
Psychological.
Assertiveness training.
Management
Interface.
Policy of Appeasement/Expediency Conflict Management.
Renewal Exercises/Laboratories.
Training
in decision
development of
personnel function:
Laboratory.
functionaries. functionaries.
TO IR
1) Management must make clear the Policy, Philosophy and Values underlying
in its actions.
3) Top management style, especially the Chief Executives’ style needs to be pro-
active and geared to problem solving. His actions and decisions must bear the
7) Norms of full day’s work and facilities to unions and their representatives
is vital.
9) Recognition on the part of both management and the unions that planned
making.
10) Workers and unions should be prepared to give up restrictive practices and
adopt more flexible roles and recognise that such planned change is not likely
IMPROVING IR
wages and
of bi-partite negotiations.
marketing; diversification.
performance problem.
problems.
employees)
skills.
behavioural skills.
supervisors.
to develop leadership.
counselling.
union.
hierarchical levels.
To encourage introduction of
change in an individual.
decision making.
change programme.
16.9 SUMMARY
the field of IR can help a great deal in creating a basic climate of trust and problem
solving and bring out IR from the traditions of chaos; violence; conflict and
litigation.
A developing country like India can ill afford continued conflict ridden; rigid and
systematically plan change and move from reactive mode to pro-active mode in
managing IR.
16.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST
ii) Discuss the major areas of integration between HRD & IR development.
iv) What can be the core programmes for developing top management, middle
Annual.
Andrew Thomson and Mal Calm Warner: The Behavioural Sciences and
1966) HMSO.
W.L. French and C.H. Bell: Organisation Development, Prentice Hall of India
Resource Management.
Mills, D.O. : Reforming the U.S. System of collective bargaining, Monthly Labour
Annexure
Nizanand Industries located on the west coast of India had a turn-over of Rs. 65
multi- unions. The Industrial Relations scenario was ripe with emergence of highly
powerful trade union leader in Bombay with the image of creating and spreading
turbulance not only in his industry but the neighbouring industries in the region.
This gave rise to a young union leader on the west coast of south India who
penetrated in various industries and initiated raising of sky high demands resulting
into strikes, violence and/lock-outs in most of the business houses in the region.
He was knocking at the doors of Nizanand industry for an entry with demands
raised to fantastic level, using various threats to paralyse the industry. This
generated a scare. The normal anti-union reactive action choices were expressed
OD Approach
The top management committee decided to work out an action plan based on the
in-depth interviews. In this meeting the Personnel Manager shared his beliefs and
concerns using them mainly as analytical data of what was happening in the
The in-depth interviews conducted within six months revealed the fact that while
emotionally they identified themselves with the workers and workers’ union. A
Detailed report of in-depth interview with the main features was submitted to the
company’s endeavour to act and implement it in its true spirit. A sample of policy
have one union for the unit of walk into the trap of breaking or business
to
Union and the Union Leader they let workers decide the union they want.
union leader.
formalised
structure
other units.
planning.
v) Family budgeting.
5) Not to nurture to myth that the third 5) Accept the reality that
Follow-up
2) Team building and trust building instrumented laboratory for all functional
managers.
3) Inter-personal relations lab for young professionals.
Achievements
1) The entire series of interventions took three years time. The Human Resources
report.
Objectives
Structure
17.5 Trends and Issues Relating to the Structuring of the HRD Function in Indian
Organisations
HRD roles can be structured in various ways. The form of structuring depends
upon the size of the organisation, history of the organisation, nature of its
activities, the structure of the organisation and the like. The following are some of
the forms.
HRD Function through a Separate Department
A group of persons may be assigned HRD roles and created as a separate unit or
independent entity with some linkages with the personnel department. The size of
the HRD department depends on the size of the organisation as well as its spread
of activities including the geographic spread. While there are no rigid rules or
principles it may be useful to have one full-time HRD person to look after about
Alternately for every 100-200 managerial staff it is useful to have a HRD staff
etc. The designation may be in tune with the organisational culture and acceptable
designation.
depends on the credibility and status of the personnel department. HRD staff are
change agents. A lot of their work involves inspiration and pursuasion. If the
welfare etc. keeping HRD department as a part of personnel may create credibility
have strong linkages with the personnel and should have scope of influence
development needs through the personnel management issues. Such linkages may
be provided through various committees and other mechanisms. For example there
HRD departments should also have linkages with corporate planning, management
Task Force or HRD Committee. The members of this task force are given HRD
are not only to promote HRD in their own unit/department but also should
formulate’ policies for the entire company, identify appropriate HRD systems,
Different titles could be used for this group. It could be a “HRD Group” or “HRD
“Working Group on’ HRD” etc. The main difference from this and the HRD
department is that HRD is not the main job of the members of this group while it
is the main job of the members or staff of the HRD department. The members,
however, are expected to do this task all through the year and additional facilities
may be given to them to facilitate their HRD work. The task force or the group
may have a chairman or Head who may be given a HRD Officer or a Staff
member to assist him or assist the group. The Personnel Manager or the Chief of
Training (if there is such provision) or one of the members of the corporate
planning cell may be given the task of the member-secretary of this task force or
group.
The group may keep meeting periodically to perform various HRD functions a
HRD department would have performed. The group may however assign a large
The composition of group and the credibility of group members is very important
for the effectiveness of the teal. The team should be line managers, who are
considered effective in their own jobs. They should have positive attitude to the
skills.
culture in the organisation, and these committees take their work seriously. This
also implies that the group members are able to set aside a good part of their time
Another way of organising for HRD is to have the Chief Executive Officer as the
voluntary agencies, educational institutions and other small size organisation. For
offices like that of the BDOs office or the Collector’s office or the Police Station
or the Post-Office etc. cannot have separate formal HRD departments or staff. In
such organisations the Chief Executive of the unit should become the HRD
facilitator. It should be an integral part of his role. He may, if necessary, appoint
from time to time temporary teams or working groups to look at specific tasks or
activities.
In cases where CEO himself has to perform this function the function faces a very
high risk. The risk involved in the non-HRD priorities that keep coming to the
CEO as challenge, problems and crisis situations leaving him very little time to do
any HRD work. In order to avoid this danger the CEO can also appoint one of his
senior staff as, a second man to look after the HRD activities. The CEO may also
develop a check-list of HRD activities and keep reviewing once in a year how
departments or units that could be used for undertaking HRD responsibilities are:
Corporate Planning or Strategic Planning Cell (if there is some such unit), the
This may be considered as the least preferred or least effective form of organising
for HRD. This is because these departments have established their own identity
which may interfere with effective implementation of HRD. They may not have
the same commitment to HRD as the other three groups are likely to have.
However in some organisations where these groups/departments are already doing
good work this may work as the simplest, and cost-effective form of organising
HRD.
If personnel and training departments are given HRD responsibilities extra care
needs to be taken to ensure that they do not reduce HRD to training and
performance appraisals.
HRD tasks, if the organisation decides to use this form of organisation, OD and
HRD have very similar concerns and OD facilitators are normally well equipped
Activity A
How are HRD activities organised in the organisation you are marking in or
familiar with?
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The main objective of the HRD department is to create learning environment and a
employees continuously learn from their own experience and from the various
learning opportunities the organisation provides. The HRD department also should
motivation. The HRD department should create an “enabling” culture where the
employees an able to make things happen and in the process discover and utilise
their potentia.
The most important objective of the HRD function is to create learning
skills.)
a) develop a human resources philosophy for the entire organisation and get the
b) keep inspiring the line managers to have a constant desire to learn and
develop;
c) constantly plan and design new methods and systems of developing and
systems/mechanisms;
exercises periodically;
h) influence personnel policies by providing, necessary inputs to the Personnel
Department/Top Management.
In order to perform these functions and tasks well, the HRD departments need to
be manned by people with certain types of spirit and competencies. The personnel
Essential Qualities
3) Interested in people;
4) Helpful attitude;
7) Communication skills;
8) Objectivity in approach;
manager. The HRD Manager is a man on mission. Therefore, he should have the
organisations, employees tend to get too much concerned about their personal
without reflection and iderning, creating crisis situations and getting busy with
from one’s own experiences is lacking. All these factors affect the quality of life
etc. have a good degree of impact on the employee satisfaction and work
sacrifice personal and small group goals for larger interests, autonomy, positive
attitude to each other etc.) combined with a development desire on the part of
individuals can go a long way in building people and organisation. The mission of
the HRD manager is to build such a climate in the organisation and simultaneously
COMPETENCIES
As the above discussion makes it clear, some special skills are required for
facilitating HRD. The professional knowledge and skills in HRD can be acquired
Many institutions, professional bodies and consulting agencies are offering short-
term courses on HRD. The Indian Institutes of Management the Centre for HRD
of XLRI, Jamshedpur and a few schools of Management offer short duration (one
categories. The basic programmes are meant for the beginners in HRD. Even line
managers could be sponsored for these programmes. There are advanced and
experienced sharing programmes for HRD staff and HRD task force committee
members. These programmes are not very regular ones and one has to keep
looking for these. Among the professional bodies the National HRD Network and
the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science are the only two bodies that
offered normally in summer months. The diploma and certificate courses offered
by NIPM and ISTD provide a wider knowledge base required by HRD specialists.
The various reference books and study material provided in this course of IGNOU
most of the reference material and also join professional bodies like HRD
Network, ISTD, NIPM, ISISD and ISABS. Most of these bodies have chapters in
different cities and towns. The periodic meetings and workshops conducted by
these bodies help in gaining professional knowledge and insights. Details of these
member or facilitator should have some process skills. By process skills is meant
behaviour processes, organisational health and the like. Such human process
offered at present in out country only by two professional bodies: the Indian
Society for Applied Behavioural Science (ISABS) and the Indian Society for
Individual and Social Development (ISISD}. These are offered in the form of
Institution Building workshops etc. These bodies also develop process skills
through their professional development programmes. The NTL Institute of
Applied Behavioural Science in USA and the Tavistak Institute in London also
good way to lay foundations for development, the best way to develop one’s own
self is by experimentation on the job and continuous review and reflection. HRD
facilitators can develop themselves by trying out new ideas, networking with
fellow professionals and getting to know their work, visiting other organisations
and learning from their experiences, consulting, being in touch with line managers
and learning from them and so on. There is a good degree of literature available
for an interested HRD facilitator (Rao, 1990) and these may be used for the
A large part of the trends and issues mentioned here are derived from an earlier
In the minds of most managers and laymen, the term ‘Organisational Structure’
Neither of these two impression is right. Structure is a necessary condition for the
efficient and continued functioning of a system and it defines the conditions under
which things are done and the way they are done. HRD, on the other hand is a
intended to ensure their utilisation in ways which enhance not just organisational
effectiveness but also the effectiveness of human resources too. Hence, the
Since the early 1970s when the concept of HRD first began to be recognised by
departments to keep up with the fashions of the times, there are some which seem
The Centre for HRD, XLRI, and the National HRD Network undertask a study of
There were 10 each from in and around Bombay and Madras respectively and 9
from in and around Delhi. Five of the organisations were from the public sector
and 24 from the private sector. In terms of their nature of business too, the
organisations were varied mix. Seven of them were from the chemicals and allied
products business, five from heavy engineering, six from other business such as
organisations, there were young organisations established during the last 10 years
but the majority, 26 were organisations which have been in business for more than
.of more than 3000 employees each. Fifteen of the 29 companies had a sales
because current theory on organisational structure and design strongly holds that
departments to look after HRD functions as distinct from the traditional personnel
* This section of this unit is a modified version of a paper presented on this theme
One of the immediate questions which arises from this initial finding is what
examine this question, simple frequency analyses were carried out to see if the
ownership (whether public sector or private sector), nature of business, age, size in
terms of number of employees and size in terms of sales turnover. The data
Public Sector 1 4 5
Private Sector 11 13 24
12 17 29
Consumer goods 0 1 1
Heavy engineering 1 4 5
Light engineering 1 2 3
Services 1 1 2
Trading 0 1 1
Diversified 5 1 6
12 17 29
12 17 29
1000-2000 1 1 2
2000-3000 2 3 5
12 17 29
12 17 29
Since the study did not make use of rigorous sampling techniques, accurate
inference and generalisations are not possible based on the available data.
However, some trends can be inferred. It would appear that the HRD function is
The only case where some relationship may exist is with respect to the nature of
suggest from this that as an organisation ventures into new business and gets
diversified, the exigencies of maintaining its viability and sustaining the employee
commitment and drive necessary for running its operations, induces the
Another important inference which can be drawn, based on this analysis as well as
organisation which is the main factor behind the setting up of a ‘separate HRD
function. The examples of companies like L & T, ECC, BEML and SBI, all
suggest that it is primarily the top management’s faith and commitment to HRD
which prompts the organisation to invest so heavily in setting up of HRD
As we have suggested in the earlier paragraph, HRD has much to do with top
management style and philosophy. This leads us to another aspect of the Structure
of the HRD function: how closely linked it is with the top management policy
have separate HRD functions, 10 of them have direct formal linkages with top
management. That is,’ in each of these 10, the head of the HRD function either
reports directly to the Chief Executive or reports to the second line of the top
management.
corporate level function. Even in the organisations which have different divisions
or manufacturing units, HRD remains at the corporate level and HRD activities in
the units are largely carried out by the corporate HRD department. Also in all the
cases, with the exception of training, most other HRD activities such as
counselling, performance appraisal, etc., are applicably only to the managerial and
supervisory cadres.
The finding that the HRD function trends to be linked quite closely with the senior
translation of such commitment into concrete action. Also, it ensures that even
when top managements change, the mechanisms for ensuring the continuation of
India indicate that they are often shortlived simply because they depend almost
power. The presence of some structural linkage with top management in the form
There is, however, a negative side to this picture, which is that the structural
linkage appears to be entirely based towards the top side of the organisational
responsibility for HRD is entirely a corporate level function. There appears to, be
practically no decentralisation of HRD to the unit levels even in the case of multi-
the exception of training and some other traditional functions, most other activities
connected with HRD remain confined to the managerial, or at best the supervisory
levels, of the organisations. One is inclined to ask, from this, whether the HRD
destined to be the privilege of a favoured few? It ‘is not surprising, therefore, that
in some of the organisations which have introduced HRD, the function is viewed
drawback has been the failure to involve employee unions in HRD related
activities. Given the often uneasy relationship between management and labour in
HRD Mechanisms
A final issue to be raised here is the kind of mechanisms which are made of as part
of the HRD function. While training was found to be an activity undertaken by all
the HRD departments, not all organisations have ventured into other activities
backed by other changes in the organisation’s culture and structure the impact of
One of the main reasons why HRD remains mainly a training functions in many
organisations is that HRD personnel often lack the knowledge, skills and
is used as a dumping ground for executives who fall out of favour with the top
management. Apart from being unfair to the HRD departments, such measures
sooner or later have a negative effect on other parts of the organisations. This is
because HRD managers are usually in touch with most other personnel through
training programmes and the like, and in the course of such programmes they tend
Rao, T.V. The HRD Missionary. The role and functions of HRD managers and
D’Souza, K.C. Some issues relating to the structuring of the HRD function in
Objectives
This is the concluding unit of the course on Human Resource Development. This
unit aims at integrating some of the critical learnings from the earlier units. The
precious, units and lead the leader into future. As previous units have presented
sufficient information on the trend of HRD practices, this unit intends to present
only the trends in perspectives and issues. The reader will get some insights into
the complexities involved in effectively implementing the HRD function, the roles
needed to be played by different agents in HRD and some lessons from the past
Structure
18.1 Introduction
18.3 HRD Priorities for Large Organisations : Lessons from the past
18.1 INTRODUCTION
HRD has become a movement in country. Ten years age hardly any organisation
HRD departments or talked about it. Today it is difficult to find organisations that
employ large number of people that do not talk about HRD. Several of them even
have HRD departments or HRD Managers. A few years ago HRD meant a new
name for training. Today most organisations talk in terms of HRD Climate,
Performance Appraisals, Potential Development, Performance Counselling, Career
Development, Organisation Development and the like. Thus HRD has come to
well as technology. In spite of this popularisation of HRD in the last few years,
success experience of HRD is limited to a few organisations and many others are
yet to translate their goodwill into action. Organisations in the small scale sector
have not even thought about it and those in the service section continue to neglet
it.
organisations and their top management much before the HRD departments got
started and the term HRD got popularised. If organisations did not invest in their
people, they would not have grown and expanded. However top management of
and punishments. In the feudal atmosphere, a few of the employees always had the
organisations and their top management have recognised that HRD cannot be
planned activity.
In a survey conducted by Rao and Abraham in 1985 it was founded that only
about 32% of organisations did not have separate HRD Departments functionaries
and only 11 % did not emphasize HRD in their personnel policies. The situation
may be even better now.. The earlier units have given details of experiences of
some public and private sector organisations in introducing HRD. The following
3) Creating a HRD culture in which employees feed free to express their views
and opinion to their seniors, where employees mean what they say and are
trusted, where employees are helpful to each other, where employees take
initiative and mistakes are used as learning opportunities, and where problems
are faced without fear and jointly is being considered more important than
being experienced as a difficult and challenging task. There are more failure
than success because attitude change, value development and cultural change
relentlessly pursuing.
systems but they have difficulties due to changes of 1eadership, large size and
social responsibility.
6) Chief Executives, Top Management and Line Managers are becomings more
aware of their role in HRD and are increasingly playing facilitating role.
7) New mechanisms and processes of HRD are being explored for workers and
unionised categories as their HRD needs are different than these of the
Executives.
that several dozens of organisations are very willingly sharing their HRD
experiences in the National HRD Network Conference and other forums like
developed at the same rate at which they could develop. This is because:
1) Some executives/union leaders/office bearers look at anything that is initiated
2) There is already enough cynicism in some organisation that all changes met
with failures.
3) Competent and well trained HRD staff are few and the field inset has not
HRD work.
5) Some top managers pay only lip sympathy to HRD, are unwilling to allocate
separate budget for HRD activities and blame HRD for every failure that takes
Some of the characteristics of large organisations that effect the introduction and
Size
The mere size of the organisation (e.g. in the banks, the number of officers to be
covered is in several thousands and highest being the SBI with about 40,000
officers, other public sector units like SAIL has also in thousands) makes the
introduction and monitoring of any sub-system difficult as any new sub term
Circulars are ineffective and employees do not have a culture of finding time to
orientation workshops seem to influence only the ‘faithful’. Others either pay lip
sympathy during the workshop and forget it later or oppose the sub-system due to
their own personal frustrations and past negative experience and spread their
Geographical Spread
Most of these organisation are spread out geographically all over the country
department.
Distortion in Messages
The scope for rumours and distortion in communications is very high in large
appraiser and appraiser during review discussions is enough to provide data for
scope to clarify such wrong communications. Larger the organisation more the
scope for negative experiences to be thrown up and in our culture negatives are
Most of the large organisations are from the public sector. In public sector every
changing. Quits often HRD staff wait to understand the HRD philosophy and
priorities of the new Chief Executive, A lot of time and enthusiasm gets lost in the
transition period as normally HRD is not the priority of most Chief Executives in
their first year of office. In some cases the role of the HRD Manager itself may
The above mentioned factors cannot for the sake of HRD. Therefore, it is useful to
A large part of HRD staffs work should be that of monitoring the implementation
monitoring but more of “spiritual monitoring” that requires dynamism on the part
system is being introduced, the HRD staff should be spending a large part of their
time contacting line managers, interviewing them to find out the way they are
implementing, understanding their problems, giving them guidance, helping them
In large organisations a small number of HRD staff only will not be able to
someone to help them and someone who can keep reminding them of their
in the organisations. Line managers could be developed into HRD facilitators with
some minimum training. Each line manager chosen as a HRD facilitator should be
able to spend at least 10% to 15% of his time in HRD facilitation and it should be
made as a part of his job (one of his key performance areas) and his own
performance appraisal should give due weightage to the facilitation done by him.
In addition other structural mechanisms like task forces and periodic review
HRD Climate should be the focus rather than the HRD Mechanisms
an extent that the formats procedures and deadlines become more important than
the spirit and climate they are expected to develop. For example percentage
returning the appraisal forms or time may become more Important than the extent
through training.
There is a constant danger of means becoming ends. The main focus of HRD as
few instruments the organisation should be flexible enough to keep trying out
Encourage innovations
developing people. In the last few years the HRD departments of same banks have
organisation problems start. In the beginning they are pursued with enthusiasm in
HRD staff and the top, management should encourage line managers to come up
with as many new ways as possible of helping employee development and also
help them in implementing. HRD staff then will have scope to learn from line
managers.
developing human resources. One of the functions of the HRD department should
they could get inspired by these practices and in turn develop many new practices.
other organisations by sharing their own experiences and using the existing
Instead of controlling the HRD function from central office, it is useful to create
HRD cells in very viable unit and give them autonomy to function independently.
Only the minimum should be imposed on them (for example while it may be
useful to have a common framework for the appraisal system scope for
central office found fit somewhere need not be imposed on every unit). The HRD
staff of the operating units should have at least half of the time available to do
what they see as useful and important and only the remaining time to implement
HRD staff and facilitators to get together frequently and exchange notes. They
should keep on examining the roles they are performing and create self-renewal
processes in the HRD function itself. It is useful for the HRD developments to
staff is spending their time. If more than 25% of their time goes in routine
The HRD climate survey of XLRI Centre for HRD has been found to be a useful
analysis could be done and feedback given to each department. In fact the survey
feedback charts on the HRD climate could be displayed by each department and
departmental staff could get together to discuss methods of improving the HRD
climate.
Where employees are encouraged to express their ideas and opinions freely,
and trust each other, where people try to help each other and have concern for their
team and their organisation and other larger goals there HRD is likely to take place
better and well. For such a culture to be generated a high degree of process
they tend to neglect the human process means that are being adopted to achieve
these goals. The leadership styles, ‘We’ feeling initiative, team spirit, work-
these processes, they cannot be strengthened. HRD managers need to develop such
There are two pre-conditions which are essential for effective implementation of
the HRD function. These are “top management commitment” to HRD and HRD
staffs dynamism and personal example” Without these two no HRD will take
place in any organisation. The top management should believe in HRD and
staff. The support needed is not merely in terms of budget and staffing of the HRD
HRD, releasing their time for HRD and making demands on them to develop their
subordinates. The HRD departments should practice themselves what they expect
other line managers to do. They should have a high degree of initiative dynamism
and creativity. When these two pre-conditions are met and if the priorities outlined
individual. However, managing it well and making it grew is much more difficult.
There is some research evidence to suggest that small-scale entrepreneurs who fail
to make a mark so because they fail to change or develop themselves and their
self-respect, confidence and a need for independence. Along with these they have
preference for doing most things themselves. As a result of working hard from
conception till the time the manufacturing activity begins they become
contribution and success. Thus seen the employees in a small enterprise become
dependent on the owner and work only out of loyalty to him and fail to enhance
delegation concentration of all critical decisions and activities in the hands of the
to identify a few strategic individuals from among those they employ and develop
them as their second and third line in command. The owner-entrepreneur, should
identify his own competencies and keep one or two of the key functions like the
and train others to handle the rest. Sometimes it is pitiful to delegate and such
times the entrepreneurs may have to examine himself and his interpersonal trust
time sharing their plans and vision of the enterprise with their employees. Periodic
them the problems and difficulties of the enterprise etc. may help generate a
feeling of belonging to the organisation and get ore commitment and loyalty from
the employees.
appraisal, he should discuss with each individual about his role, performance,
development and motivation purposes. He could make this budget available for a
team or committee of employees and encourage them to undertake HRD activities
These may include training, field visits, guest lectures, picnics, company day
such a way that the impact of HRD can be experienced in a short time. The owner-
entrepreneur himself is the HRD manager in a small enterprise and, therefore, the
chances of positive outcomes are high. I strongly urge the small scale entrepreneur
in and around this city .to get together for a day and discuss about the HRD needs
and strategies for them. It is quite possible that there is a lot they can learn from
HRD is most needed in sectors like Education, Health and other services. It is also
most neglected in these sectors. In these sectors the HRD activity is limited to
training. Even the training is not done enough both qualitatively and
quantitatively. The fact that schools, and colleges and universities nave practically
no HRD budget is an indication of the low importance given to HRD. The entire
country has only one National Institute to train managers in Education and even
this Institute does not have sufficient faculty strength and they are merely involved
in training. Some is the case with the Health sector. The recent efforts by the
experience available from industry the new appraisal system designed for IAS
A few suggestions are given below to initiate and strengthen HRD in services
sector:
HRD purposes. Separate financial allocations for HRD should be built into the
state levels).
described very proudly the new HRD system his bank was introducing to develop
their employee competencies. After listening carefully to his narration one of the
bank!’’. Interestingly enough, a few months before that in the same bank when a
fraud case come to light, one of the senior officers blamed HRD (still in its infancy
Another executive of a company that has introduced HRD system a few years ago
remarked ‘to a HRD consultant, “your HRD had very little impact in my company.
Look at my case f have not been promoted so far. Only those who butler the boss
continue getting promotions and HRD does nothing about it”. Another executive
asked a consultant once, “Tell me Sir, those companies that are using HRD, are
they ‘doing better than those that don’t use HRD? How are their balance sheets?”
All these concerns and questions are indicative of high expectations managers
have from a new management system .like HRD. In fact, whenever anew
management concept, theory or technique starts getting popular and talked about,
we have a tendency to look for solutions to all our organisational problems in that.
happening now with HRD, computers, Japanese Management and so on. We treat
them as Pansecea for all ills. It is this tendency on the part of our enthusiastic
executives and top management that kills the utility of the concept, theory,
extent that Chief Executive of some companies want ‘‘results” on parameters that
can be shown on the balance sheets. In a year or two (some cannot even wit that
long) if “results’’ are not good the manager in-charge of the new system/practice
has to carryall the curse and criticism and soon the system maybe discontinued or
at least put in cold storage. This is the fate most management practices that found
In the more fortunate organisations where the practices continues under the
continuously under fire by the line managers who are supposed to implement
them. For example, the budgeting system in some companies where it is intended
to be bottom up but turns out to be top down (partly due to top managements
One can visualise very clearly HRD meeting the same fate in the years to come.
Comments like those cited above made by executive of some organisations are
indicative of this possibility. To some extent this can be prevented if both the top
organisation in terms that our balance sheets do not recognise. HRD system and
such human systems are highly vulnerable to be put in cold storage due to the slow
future roles the changing organisation may demand and thus contribute to
competencies is continuously process and most it should take place on the job in
the workplace.
HRD Systems assume that higher level competencies like managerial skills,
develop human competencies. In order to get synergistic effects. these art; used in
a planned way as a system (hence HRD system). One can list the following as the
period of time.
1) Employees in the organisation should start taking more initiative (and become
more pro-active).
2) The employees should be able to solve problems on their own and refer them
involvement in work.
5) There should be more and more creative ideas coming from employees with
6) The top management should become more sensitive to the problems and
7) People feel motivated to work and contribute as these arc recognised and
When all these happen the organisation is likely to grow in size, profits, vitality,
crisis management competence etc. Thus HRDS may lead over a long period of
time things that can be shown in the balance sheet. How long is this period is very
difficult to answer. For some organisations it may take a very long period (as
trigger of change. The size of the organisation, its existing culture, the strength of
the traditions followed in that company, their preparedness for change
organisation out of gear and put HRD processes in cold storage due to fire fighting
operations) etc. determine the effectiveness of HRD systems and the period over
Some times when enlightened organisations that already have good HRD
processes adopt HRD Systems change may not be easily visible. This is because
the organization already has vitality and HRD is helping it to maintain that and
add in small increments that may not be easily noticeable. Some times when
faster and in some others it may be slowly if employees have been too
conservative.
parameters like those mentioned above and not simply in terms of complaints
made by line managers about the HRD System of figures in the balance sheet.
Unfortunately the top management of very few organisations are willing to use
these indicators. Even in these, few that are willing to use these indicators,
as a result of the new HRD processes followed in that company managers are
taking more initiative than before, collaborating more, generating new ideas,
solving problems at their own level, more involved in their jobs etc. If he uses
wants “concrete results”. If he gives instances, he is told “but these are some
instances and these people are initiative takers any way from the beginning”. If he
asks line managers to speakout, the human tendency is normally to speak loudly’
about “what good things are not taking place in the company” rather than “what
good things are taking place” or alternately to credit themselves for ail good things
For example, in one organisation some time after introducing an open appraisal
system a Questionnaire survey was conducted. About 45% of the executives felt
that the communication and understanding between them and their bosses
accusing the new system and sending complaints to top management. In another
organisation a sizeable number of line managers did not take the system seriously
and the top management started pulling up the HRD department alone instead of
Thus in a number of ways HRD could be in trouble like many other management
systems. Therefore, it is important for the top management to keep the purposes of
HRD in mind and evaluate its impact in terms of these purposes. The ideal
statements and include human resource statements. This complex change may not
take place for year to come. Therefore, our organisations should think of preparing
Human Resources Accounting report giving various details of its human resources
organisational health, stress levels, etc. annually. These could be used as internal
discussed and decisions taken every year to improve situation. The HRD
departments should undertake this task. Unless this is done HRD and such other
Rao and D.F. Pereira (Editors), Recent Experiences in HRD, New Delhi, Oxford